The Jewel Wielders: Tales Through Time By Rachelle Bellamy Author's Rating: PG REENIE I sat at my dressing table and prepared for the day's events. After I had brushed my long pink hair into submission, I pulled it into its familiar ponytails and pointed buns. Soon, the event we had all prepared for would finally take place. Destiny would soon unfold before my eyes. Unlike the excited and expectant mood of the others, mine was serious and a little sad. Today I was to lose five friends, friends that had been with me all of my life. I stood up and walked to my wardrobe. Opening the heavy wooden door, I pulled out a beautiful light blue dress. It was a simple dress that was made from a silky material with spaghetti straps. The bustline was cut a little low. It clung snugly to the waist then flowed gracefully to my ankles. This was my favorite dress that I wore on all happy occasions. I thought, I carefully slid myself into the dress and somehow fastened the zipper. I sat on my bed to put on my pumps. But I only sat there. I looked to my side and found a now grown Diana lazily napping on my pillow. She looked up at me and frowned. "Why are you so sad? Today is supposed to be a happy occasion." I shook my head. "I know, Diana, but I can't help it. Today my life long time friends are going to commit themselves to being my protectors. Do you know what that means?" Diana looked at Reenie, not understanding. "I thought it means that they take on honored and respected positions within your Court." "I know, but it also means that they have to sacrifice their lives for mine. They have to be strong all the time, and be willing to even die if they have to." Diana did not understand the problem. "But I thought they know that. They were told what protecting you entails. Plus, they love you and would already do anything for you. Don't you see, they just want to be there to make you happy. That's all they want." I walked over to my dressing table and began to put on a small pair of gold crescent shaped earrings. "I guess I just don't want them to be unhappy. I want them to lead full, happy lives. I'd rather die than see any of them harmed." Diana sat up, she finally understood. "Serenity, they will lead full and happy lives, and so will you. You just have to work at it together." I looked down at my good friend and smiled. "I guess you're right, Diana, come on, let's go be happy for our friends. ************************************************* The ceremony was to take place in the throne room of Crystal Palace. We sat on chairs that had been placed in front of the throne except for my friends who stood in a row. Eden, Rhetta, and Hannah wore beautiful dresses and looked absolutely stunning. Hannah was cheerful and calm. Rhetta was nervous and tried hard not to work on her wrist computer, which she had undoubtedly refused to take off. Eden waited patiently, without Rhetta's nervousness. Amber fidgeted, despite her attire. She wore a lovely pantsuit in a color that matched her eyes. She had been adamant about the suit, and had repeated several times that she would never be caught dead in a dress. Lyn was a beautiful tuxedo and looked handsome as ever. He leaned down to grab Rhetta's hand to reassure her. Their parents and siblings sat with us, and watched. Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion sat solemnly on their thrones. I thought, Neo-Queen Serenity stood up and walked to the five people who stared at her solemness with equally serious faces. She produced the Silver Imperium Crystal, which began to shine brilliantly between her hands. Raising her arms above her head, she began to speak, "Today, your lives change. You will no longer be normal teenagers. Your destinies become enmeshed with Neo-Princess Serenity's. You will be her protectors, her advisors, and most of all her companions for life. By the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal, I grant you the power to do so. May all of your destinies be filled with strength and good fortune." The Crystal became more brilliant and the light it emanated engulfed my five friends. A little girl passed me and before anyone could catch her she entered the light. "No don't!" I exclaimed but it was too late. The light dissipated and my five friends stood there smiling. Small jewel glowed brightly from their foreheads. The little girl hid behind Amber and peaked around her knees. A tiny diamond shined brightly from a delicate bracelet that had appeared on her arm. "Now, you will wield the power of your jewels to protect your Princess and right with courage and honor." Neo-Queen Serenity was surprised at the inclusion of the girl, but did not seem distressed by this. She sat on her throne and motioned for the little girl to come near her. The girl walked up cautiously, and expected a scolding. The Queen touched her bracelet and said, "Child do you know what this means?" The child thought about it for a second and smiled. "It means have to help protect Reenie and I get to fight a lot." The Queen laughed, as did everyone else in the room, except for her parents who only shook their heads in exasperation. "That's right, little one. But first you have to grow up for a while. When you're bigger you can join her guard. For now you need to work hard and practice. That's your job, got it?" The little girl nodded solemnly and ran to join her parents. I walked up to my friends and hugged them. A crowd gathered around them to congratulate them and I withdrew from the grew to allow them access. I slipped, unnoticed, out of the room and walked into the garden. I sat in the dark on a bench and looked into the Moonlit sky. Suddenly I heard a noise, and looked up to find Setsuna looking down at me. I stood up and hugged her. "Hello Puu, what are you doing out here, shouldn't you be with the others?" We both sat down on the bench. "I came to talk to you." My eyes widened because when Puu said that, it was usually about something serious. "I need to warn you about something. Now, while I am the Guardian of Time, I cannot reveal the future to you. But I can tell you this. Never ever allow your Jewel Wielders to ever use their powers simultaneously at one target." This surprised me. "But why, what will happen?" "I can only warn you that the consequences will be grave," she answered. "Now, you must explain this to your guard so they always remember." "I'll do that for you, Puu, I promise. You have always been right in such matters." She smiled at me with great affection. "Good." Setsuna leaned over and hugged me, then stood up. "I must go now, I will see you later, Small Lady." I smiled as I watched her walk into the Crystal Palace. ************************************************* I never had the chance to warn my friends. I hear an explosion far off and saw my friends run towards me. "There is an attack in the courtyard," said Rhetta. "Neo-King Endymion sent us to fight it," commented Eden. Amber tapped the jewel on her forehead. "No time like the present to try out these babies." She smiled, ready for battle. I nodded, stood up and plucked my transformation brooch out of its subspace pocket. "Let's do it!" I answered and shouted. "Moon Eternal Make Up!" After my transformation into Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon was complete, we ran to the scene of the battle. ************************************************* A short time later, I walked slowly into the throne room of the Crystal Palace. I saw my mother, as she sat on her throne and Setsuna as she stood before her Queen. They did not notice me at first. "How could you have done so?!" shouted Setsuna angrily. "You have not protected them, only endangered them. I have been telling you this for over a thousand years." Before my mother could reply she noticed me. I was filthy since I had landed in the dirt to avoid a laser blast. My hair was a mess and falling out of its pigtails. I had not yet reversed my transformation and my wings ached, where the robot had singed them with its lasers. "Reenie?" she asked, running to me. She pulled me into her arms and hugged me. "What happened?" I looked up at my mother and tears rolled down my face. "They're gone. All of them. It was Electrolus we were fighting. We did a good job at first of fighting him; they used their powers so well. I went to attack but it got a direct shot at me. But before he could blast me, they attacked him at the same time. There was a big flash of light, then they were gone, all of them, including Electrolus!" I began to cry harder and my mother hugged me tighter. "Don't worry." she said, "They're not dead. Their jewels are so powerful, I was afraid that if they were used at one target, it would destroy everything and everyone. So, I created a portal that would activate when this happened so that they would be brought to safety. Don't worry, we just have to find them now." I smiled up at my mother in relief. "I'm going to go get cleaned up, Mom, then we'll look for them." I left the room, feeling hopeful that I would see my friends again soon. ************************************************* Setsuna looked at Neo-Queen Serenity with a very unamused gaze. "You seem unconcerned about all of this," she commented. "Why should I be?" replied the Queen. "We know they ended up in the past and we exactly where three of them ended up. We also know that they all returned safely. This will all be over soon Setsuna, so why should I be worried?" Setsuna became so angry, her eyes almost emitted fire, "You have not been paying attention to me for the last one thousand years!" She stopped then, and looked away. "No," she said in a much softer tone, "I should not be this way. It is not your fault. I am not subject to linear time as you are. To you, when the events take place, they become the past. To me, those events are as current as the ones you are currently experiencing." She sat Neo-Queen Serenity on her throne, and then sat herself in Endymion's. "Let me explain. The past, present, and future, as you see it, is actually the fragile balance of the universe. Each one must be kept in balance, or the consequences will be disastrous. A person cannot travel to the past and do as he or she pleases, the balance would be destroyed and whole civilizations could disappear. Thus, even though they will not be in the past for long, one of the children could set off a chain of events that would destroy life as we know it now. They could talk to the wrong person, or say the wrong thing. They could wear the wrong clothes, eat the wrong food, or even look in the wrong direction. I must not be here much of the time because I must repair such mistakes." "I understand now," said the Queen. "We must now find the children as fast as we can." Setsuna nodded, silently pleased with herself. she thought, ************************************************* I entered the room and found my mother and Setsuna staring into the light of the Silver Imperium Crystal. Mother looked up at me and smiled. "You look better, Reenie, I'm glad." Setsuna looked up and nodded. "Small Lady, I hope you are prepared. It is time for you to retrieve your friends." EDEN Rei sighed in exasperation as she waited outside the mall for Serena. Just as she finished her thought, Serena came tearing around the corner and skidded to a halt so fast, she almost knocked Rei over. Serena gasped for air, "Sorry...I'm late, Miss ...Haruna ..had me in ...detention again." "Stop making excuses Serena and come on. Lita, Amy, and Mina have been waiting in the caf', for almost an hour now." she thought, Rei grabbed Serena by the wrist and began to drag her forward to the entrance of the mall. She ran so fast that Serena could barely keep up. "Rei..." she whined, "slow down, you're hurting my arm." "Well if you'd come at three thirty like you were supposed to, we wouldn't have to hurry up!!!" shouted Rei, flinging Serena's arm away in aggravation. They both started shouting at each other until the argument turned into a mess of angry raspberry blowing. Neither girls took any notice of where they were going. Suddenly, the two girls tripped over an unseen obstacle lying on the ground and they both fell. Rei landed on her hands and knees to the right of the obstacle, while Serena fell backwards and landed on her butt, legs in the air, with her skirt around her hips... "Ouch, that hurt!!" she bellowed as she rubbed her behind. Rei looked down at the obstacle that had tripped them and gasped, "Look Serena, it's a girl unconscious on the ground." Serena stopped in the middle of another wail of pain and her eyes widened in shock. She crawled to the left of the girl, and knelt down beside her. Using her wrist communicator, Serena called the others. "Oh there you are Serena," Amy began, but Serena interrupted, "Come quickly to the front doors of the mall, girls. It's an emergency!" She shut off the communicator to look intently at the girl. Rei rolled the girl onto her back so they could look more closely at her. Rei and Serena gasped as did the other girls as they arrived. Looking around for people, Amy said, "I'll scan her with my computer to check for injuries." As she did so, Rei, Serena, Mina, and Lita took a closer look at the girl. Her hair was dark purple in color, long and curly. It hung to her ankles and was secured in a ponytail at the base of her neck. She looked to be about Serena's height, with a medium frame and a very muscular build like Lita. Amy smiled in relief. "As far as I can tell, she only has a few minor cuts and bruises. Her pulse rate is strong, she should wake up soon." Suddenly the girl began to stir. She began to murmur incoherently, tossing her head back and forth. As quickly as her movement began, it stopped and the girl was once again motionless "Oh no, she's dead," panicked Serena, her eyes wide with fright. "Calm down Serena," Lita replied reassuringly, "She's not dead, just out cold." "What are we going to do with her?" asked Rei. "We can't leave her here," said Mina. "Let's take her to my house, I live alone, you know, so no one will bother us." She picked up the girl, mildly surprised at how heavy she was, and they all made their way to Lita's apartment. *************************************************************************** * I awoke very slowly, trying to hear the voices swirling around in my head. I could not make out any of them, as hard as I tried. Am I dead? This I wondered only briefly. In my head, I could hear my even breaths and I could feel my heartbeat thudding strong and reassuringly in my chest. The cuts and bruises on my body ached dully, no I was not dead. I opened my violet eyes slowly to find myself alone in a stranger's bedroom. The walls were light pink in color, covered in pictures of people that I could not recognize. I was lying in a large waterbed, and was covered by a warm white quilt. The room was otherwise bare, except for a single desk and chair across from me, pilled high with books. I sat up slowly, holding my head against the pain of a fierce headache. A tall girl of about fourteen walked into the room, smiling at me. Who as this person? I didn't recognize her. She had green eyes and long brown hair pulled up in a ponytail high on her head. She had two straight wisps of hair hanging loosely at each side of her face. She is strong and very muscular, I thought, but she does not look like a threat to me. Should I know her? My thoughts were interrupted. "Well hello there, nice to see you awake. How are you feeling?" she asked me in a cheerful tone of voice. Obviously she is not threatened by my presence. I thought as I gingerly moved my limbs to check for any serious injuries. "I am well, I think," I replied, my deep voice not hiding my nervousness. I could hear voices coming closer to the room and soon four other girls entered. The first to enter was a girl with long black hair. Her eyes were brown and she was also tall, but not as tall as the brown haired girl who had seated herself on a chair next to me. The dark haired girl looked in irritation at a short, blond haired girl standing close to her. The shorter girl had a strange hairstyle, with two pigtails that stretched to her knees with two buns at the top. She rolled her eyes at her taller friend and continued to chatter incessantly. The two other girls whispered quietly to each other. One was pretty, with long blond hair, the front of which was tied with a ribbon at the top of her head. She had blue eyes and was of medium height. The other girl had short blue hair and blue eyes. She was more reserved than the blond talking quietly to her. "Look everyone," said the tall girl seated next to me, "our guest is awake." All the girls stopped talking and turned to me. The dark haired girl's eyes squinted as she carefully scrutinized me. The blue haired girl took out a small device and studied it intently as she pointed it at me. I wanted to cringe, but did not want to show my fear. "These are my friends," said the brown haired girl, "Rei, Serena with the pigtails, Mina, and Amy with her computer. She's scanning you to check to see if you're okay. And I'm Lita. You don't have to worry, you're safe here with us." I looked around the room at these strange girls, not knowing what next to do. The one named Serena came to kneel next to the bed. "Who are you? What's your name? Where do you come from? Oh, I have so many questions," she asked, trying quickly to ask as much as possible. "Would you leave her alone, Meatball Head; quit badgering her. I'm sure she doesn't need to hear you play twenty questions with her already," Rei said harshly, scolding Serena. "Yeah Serena, give her a break," Lita said amiably. "The poor thing just woke up." "But she will be fine," interrupted Amy. "My scan indicates no serious injuries. She simply needs a little sleep." "So what is your name, if you don't mind my asking?" said Mina, her curiosity getting the best of her. They all looked at me expectantly now. "I am Eden. I am here because..." "I come from..." "I can't remember," I said. I hid my face in my hands to hide my fear. "I do not know who I am, or where I am from." Lita patted me gently on the shoulder, saying, "It's okay, Eden, you don't have to remember anything right away. You're safe with us. Why don't you just get some rest. We'll talk later." I tried hard to smile at her. Lita ushered the others out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her. Somehow she had reassured me enough that I did indeed go to sleep quickly. *************************************************************************** * All of the girls sat in Lita's living room and Lita brought out some cookies and hot chocolate to snack on. They were all quietly in thought, except for Serena who was too busy gorging herself with cookies. Lita was too worried to eat anything, and sat in a kitchen chair without saying a word. "So who do you think she is?" said Mina. "Do you think she's from the future?" asked Rei. "She could be anyone, from anywhere," replied Amy. "I don't know.." said Serena between bites, "Who she is? But she sure has a totally cool name." The others rolled their eyes. "But, what if she is from the future, maybe she needs our help." "But, what if she's secretly from the Negaverse?" asked Mina. "I mean, we really don't know anything about her. "I don't care who she is!" shouted Lita. The others jumped in surprise. "Did you see the fear in her eyes? Something terrible went wrong around her. We have to help her." "Well I don't sense an evil spirit within her," Rei said. "Maybe Lita's right." "What should we do next?" asked Amy, always the sensible one. All of the sudden their wrist communicators went off. It was Luna, looking unusually distressed. "Sailor Scouts, you must come quickly...A strange monster is attacking people in a parking lot not far from your location. It has demolished many cars. ...Come immediately. Artemis and I have tried to hold it off... Ahhh, Artemis..." "We have to go now!" said Mina. They all prepared to transform. Lita quickly took out a change of clothes for Eden and left her a note. she thought, They all transformed. "Moon Crystal Power!" "Mercury Star Power!" "Mars Star Power!" "Venus Star Power!" "Jupiter Star Power!" Once transformed the Sailor Scouts teleported themselves to the scene, not knowing what to expect. *************************************************************************** * I woke up with a start. I felt that something was very wrong. They are in trouble, I thought. But what I am I to do about it? I got up from the bed and looked into the living room. On the coffee table there was a note from Lita. Sorry, Eden, there was trouble and we had to leave. I have left a change of clothes for you to wear. Please don't leave, Eden, you're safe where you are. I'll be back as soon as I can. Lita I changed into the jeans and the white T-shirt, rolling the jeans up several time as the bottom. I thought. Why do I feel the need to help them? I don't even know what is happening. Nevertheless, I found myself running out the door, somehow knowing where to find my friends. I thought, running as fast as my tired body would allow me to. *************************************************************************** * thought Sailor Jupiter. They had found the two cats, just as the monster was about to destroy them. This monster is too powerful. Nothing we throw at it is working. Sailor Mercury had been thrown against a car and was now unconscious. Sailor Mars had been thrown at the same car, and was now lying on the pavement, bleeding from numerous cuts from broken shards of glass. The monster was actually a robot, something out of a bad sci-fi movie. It was made of a strong silver metal. It was formed like a human, with human features. Its eyes glowed red and it said, "You must surrender, there is no other choice." The voice sounded computer-like and electronic. Its hands were actually laser weapons and out of its forehead shot sharp projectile missiles. All of their powers simply bounced off of it. Sailor Venus yelled, "Hey metal head over hear." And said, "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" launching a beam of hearts at the robot. The chain bounced of the robot, who shot a laser blast at her that sent her smashing to the ground. Sailor Jupiter couldn't move. She had a laser burn on her shoulder and another on her leg. Only Sailor Moon was left. Sailor Moon, who was huddled in a corner, shaking in fear. "Sailor Moon, it's up to you, use your scepter!" Sailor Jupiter yelled. Sailor Moon seemed to wake up from her daze. "Hey robot face, over here. I'm Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice..." She began her customary speech. "In the name of the Moon, I will fight wrongs and triumph over evil, and you are the worst kind. You'll pay for hurting my friends." She took out the Moon Scepter and said, "Moon Scepter Elimination!" A beam of light shot from the scepter and hit the robot on its chest. The robot only gave an electronic laugh and grabbed Sailor Moon by the neck. Sailor Moon yelled for help, but could not get any words out. she thought... *************************************************************************** * I ran into the parking lot to find a disastrous scene. A large robot that I suddenly recognized had attacked my new friends. The robot, known to me as Electronus, had Serena, dressed in a strange sailor suit and boots, by the neck and was slowly choking her. Suddenly I knew what had to be done. A purple light shimmered around me. A violet colored amethyst appeared between my eyebrows, on my forehead. It was round and glimmered with a purple light that enveloped me. Suddenly rage, a rage that I had never felt before consumed me. "Electrolus stop! I am Eden and you will do no more harm!" I lifted my hand. From the palm of my hand came a beam of purple energy. It traveled through the air towards Electrolus and easily sheared off its head. The robot let go of Sailor Moon and rusted. The only evidence of its presence was a pile of rusty dust left at Sailor Moon's feet. I ran to each of the Scouts in turn, helping them to sit on a cement bench nearby. I watched as they reversed their transformations. Lita looked up at me and said, "Who are you? How did you do that?" I only smiled. "I am Eden, wielder of the sacred Amethyst and protector of the Moon Princess." "But we protect the Moon Princess," replied Lita, not understanding. "Yes," I replied, "but in Crystal Tokyo, Serena is Neo-Queen Serenity. I protect Neo-Princess Serenity." Serena nodded in understanding, "You protect Reenie." Just as she said this, a time portal appeared behind me. From the portal Neo-Princess Serenity emerged. She looked to be about eighteen, with long pink ponytails and pointy pink meatballs. "Hello Sailor Scouts, it is good to see you again." All of the Scouts stood up and looked at Reenie in shock. "Why do you need a protector?" asked Serena. "A few years after the attack of the Dark Moon Family, a new threat arrived to attack Crystal Tokyo. It was from a planet my parents did not know. The robots that attacked tried to destroy all human kind so that only the planet's technology would prevail. Then, it would be controlled by its new human master, Yargus, an evil tyrant who has destroy many planets in his wake. My parents worried that they would not always be able to protect me, nor would the Sailor Scouts. My mother created the Jewel Wielders to protect me." "How did you end up here, Eden?" asked Amy. "During the battle with Electrolus, we were all blasted to different times and places because of the power of our jewels. This action was created by Neo-Queen Serenity to protect us from being destroyed," I replied, remembering everything now. "Who are these Jewel Wielders?" asked Lita. "Neo-Queen Serenity used the children of the Sailor Scouts to protect me," Serenity replied. "Eden," began Jupiter, "Who's child are you?" I only smiled. "I am yours." Lita gasped in shock. She couldn't believe she was looking at her future daughter. Suddenly Neo-Princess Serenity interrupted, "We must travel through the portal now, we have already said too much. Pluto will not be pleased." She took me by the arm and pulled me quickly through the portal. *************************************************************************** * The girls were left to simply stand there in shock. Lita couldn't believe it. "Wow, she was my child. No wonder I was so worried about her. I hope the battle goes well for them," she said all of this proudly, thinking of Eden. "I'm just sorry I couldn't spend more time with her." "You will Lita, I promise," said Serena, hugging Lita. "In a thousand years." She smiled at all of the Scouts and said, "Let's go home." Artemis and Luna joined them and they all made their way home. AMBER Queen Serenity looked, through the bars, at the girl lying unconscious on the cot. She had been found in Princess Serenity's gardens. The guards had thought her to be a spy and had left her in the prison cell for the Queen to deal with. The tall woman sighed. The Queen could only shake her head sadly. A young guard approached her. He was a kind and patient young man and thus one of her favorite guards. "My Queen," he said bowing solemnly, "what would you have us to with the girl?" A serious look came over Queen Serenity's face as she pondered the question. "Take the girl to one of the guest rooms. Have one of the maids dress her in something appropriate. Those strange blue trousers will simply not work here. Also, have the Captain assign two guards to stand outside the door. One can never be too careful." The young man bowed again, and left to report to his Captain. he thought to himself, Queen Serenity took one last look at the girl and left the prison. There is much that demands my immediate attention now, child, but soon I will deal with you. *************************************************************************** * Four hours later, Queen Serenity found herself sitting in a chair next to a beautiful canopy bed. In the bed was the mysterious girl, still unconscious. Though she looked calm enough, the Queen's mind was filled with troubling thoughts. The Queen wiped the tears from her cheeks. Queen Serenity stood up and decided to study the child. The girl seemed to be of medium height. Her hair was light orange, and cut in the strangest style. It was shaved almost to the top of the back of her head. What was left was curled under, and extended downwards, to cover her ears and rest on her cheekbones. She had straight, neatly cut bangs. The maids had stripped her of the strange garments she had worn, and had dressed her in a beautiful yellow dress. She could not see the color of the girl's eyes. The medics had reported that the girl was not seriously injured, but looked to have fought hard in some sort of battle. She had many cuts, bruises and scrapes. On her side, she had a strange burn mark that baffled the medics. They could not identify what it was from. They had wrapped it, but did not know what more to do with her. A faint blue bruise could be seen on the left side of her face, near the corner of her mouth. the Queen thought. she suddenly thought, and pulled out the Crescent Moon Wand. The Moon Wand held the Silver Imperium Crystal. Queen Serenity pointed the wand at the girl and said aloud, "May the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal show me where you are from." White light emanated from the Crystal, enveloping Queen Serenity and the girl. The light was so bright, it blinded the Queen. Suddenly, Queen Serenity could see again, but it was as if she was looking at the reflection in a pond. She could see a terrible monster, unlike anything she had ever seen before. The monster was made out of metal and was shooting beams of light from one of its hand. She could see five people protecting someone. It was her daughter, Princess Serenity. But wait, it was not Serenity, she looked like her, but her hair was pink and in similar ponytails, but the buns on top were pointy. She saw the girl in question, fighting valiantly along side of her companions. Suddenly, there was a flash of multicolored light and Queen Serenity could see nothing more. She turned to look at the girl, still unconscious in the bed. Queen Serenity turned and left the room. She stopped only to order the guards to inform her when the girl finally awakened. she thought, *************************************************************************** * I awoke slowly, groaning at the pain in my side. I was lying on the most beautiful canopy bed I had ever seen. The curtains were silky and white and flowed with the breeze coming in from the balcony doors. I saw the most ornate dressing table I had ever seen before and walk up to the mirror. I thought as I saw my reflection in the mirror. Someone had dressed me in a pale yellow dress, with an empire waist and little capped sleeves. The sleeves and the bodice of the dress were trimmed in little white roses made out of material. It's not bad enough I wake up in a strange place, but I have to wake up dressed like a canary, in a dress no less! "Yuck!" she said out loud in disgust, making a horrified face. The rest of me seemed fine, except for a few bruises and a laser burn on my right side. Someone had bandaged it up, but it still stung. I thought, I looked grimly at my bruised reflection in the mirror. She'll find me, I know she'll find us all. I looked around the room and walked to the balcony, opening both doors wide. Stepping onto the balcony, I almost passed out in surprise. I thought. I looked around, and gasped in pure amazement. *************************************************************************** * Queen Serenity sat in her study, waiting for the child to awaken. She had sat in her favorite chair for more than an hour, trying to finish her work. But she could not concentrate. Her mind only wandered, trying hard to understand what she had seen through the Crystal. she thought, A guard knocked on the door to the Queen's study. "Enter," she bid him, as she tried to sound pleasant. The dark haired guard in the black uniform bowed formally. The Queen nodded in response. "My Queen, the girl has awakened and is now looking out the balcony. What shall we do with her?" "Bring the girl to me at once," the Queen answered. she thought, *************************************************************************** ***** I was led through the corridors of the Palace by two guards armed with swords. The Palace itself was magnificent, decorated with sculptures and various portraits of people from the Silver Millennium that I could not identify. I tried to keep up with the fast pace of the guards, but found this hard to do since I stumbled many times on the hem of my wretched yellow dress. I thought. I ran a hand through my short orange hair in hopes that it would not be too messy. I had not had the time to comb my hair before the guards had come in. The wound on my side ached dully, but I wasn't inclined to ask two guards with swords to slow down. They left me at entrance of a beautiful little study. Its walls were crammed with books of all shapes and sizes and a beautiful wood desk. In the chair at the desk sat Queen Serenity. She looked up, at me, from her work and looked at me with serious eyes. I tried to curtsy gracefully as my mom had taught me, but it only looked like a clumsy attempt. My mom would have been embarrassed of her clumsy, tomboy daughter's performance. Queen Serenity stood up and looked intently into my hazel eyes. I felt as if she could read my thoughts. I shuffled from one foot to another in my nervousness. "Who are you and where do you come from?" Queen Serenity asked me in a severe tone of voice. "My name is Amber," I quickly responded, dreaded what I had to say next. "I must apologize, but I can't tell you where I came from." "And why not?" the Queen asked angrily, with wide eyes. She glared down at me, waiting for my response. "Well.." I muttered, staring down at the floor awkwardly. "It is because I have been instructed not to." "Oh child, who instructed you not tell where you are from." I saw that the Queen was frustrated. "Sailor Pluto has instructed me not to tell too much, or I will change the timeline." "So then, you are from the future," she asked. "No, I cannot answer that. Too much depends on what I tell you, My Queen. You must believe me. I am not a bad person. I am sworn to fight evil. I will never harm you or anyone in your kingdom." I looked up at her, desperately imploring her with my eyes to see the truth in my words." "Hmm, Sailor Pluto has instructed you well." She smiled at me reassuringly, "I know you are not evil, but what is that which I saw you fighting? And who is that you were protecting?" I tried hard to hide my shock. How could she know about the battle with Electrolus? How did she know about Princess Serenity. Shit, I just can't say, "Oh, well I come from the future, we are fighting robots from another planet and we protect Neo-Queen Serenity's daughter two thousand years in the future!" As if!! What am I going to tell her now? I thought in a panic. "Oh Queen Serenity, please, I would tell you everything if I could. But it such knowledge could do too much damage. But I can tell you how I fight and where I get my power from." Suddenly, I was engulfed in an amber light and an oval amber jewel appeared on my forehead. I took it off and showed Queen Serenity. "This is my sacred amber jewel. I have been entrusted with its powers so that I can do good and fight evil. I am no threat to the Silver Millennium." I thought, An amber light shimmered again and the jewel disappeared. Queen Serenity looked at me intensely again. Then she gave me a brilliant smile. "Well, I did not sense you were evil. You will be my guest here during your stay. You will enjoy your time here, the Silver Millennium is a beautiful place. Come, I will introduce you to my daughter, Serenity." She bid me welcome and we made our way to her personal quarters to meet the Princess. I wonder if anyone could have known that her daughter would rule in two thousand years, on another planet. *************************************************************************** * I followed Queen Serenity to her personal quarters. We sat down in a room, painted white. A beautiful portrait of the Queen and the Princess adorned the wall across from the white leather couch we were seated on. I thought, A young, dark haired girl of about eighteen brought in refreshments on an ornate silver tray. I picked up my cup of tea and sipped it thoughtfully as Queen Serenity told me about the Princess and her court. "You will like my daughter. She is very friendly, as are her companions. Do not feel intimidated that they are all princesses themselves. They are normal fourteen year olds." I could only smile at her. Somehow, I don't think being around princesses will bother me one bit. I was raised by one. A moment later, the door to the living room opened and five girls stepped into the room. I stood up respectfully, as I had been taught many years ago. In front of me stood Princess Serenity and her Court, five people I would come to know in two thousand years as my elders. Queen Serenity began the introductions. "This is my daughter Princess Serenity and her Court. This is Princess Amy, of Mercury, Princess Lita, of Jupiter, Princess Rei of Mars and Princess Mina, of Venus." The girls all smiled politely and tried not to giggle at my sorry attempts for curtsies. I looked up at Princess Mina and smiled. Funny, in two thousand years she will be my mother. She looks so happy now, like nothing could ever hurt her. I haven't seen her look that happy since my father died. I wish I could make her that happy again. Queen Serenity continued, "My daughter is betrothed to Endymion, Prince of the Earth." I wonder if he knows what he's in for marrying Serenity. "Princess Mina is has but yesterday become betrothed to one of Prince Endymion's Generals, Jadeite." I said my congratulations to the two, trying hard not to shudder. I wonder if my mother will remember him in a thousand years as he attacks Tokyo for the Dark Forces. I remember the stories I had been told about the Generals of the Dark Forces, they were all Endymion's Generals. I wonder if she'll have the time to feel sorrow for him, like she has my father. I hope not. My thoughts were interrupted by a guard who burst noisily into the room. "I apologize for the interruption, My Queen, but a stranger is attacking the Moon Kingdom. She has red hair and has taken out many of our men. You must come quickly." Queen Serenity's eyes bulged in horror and she quickly sprang into action. Looking at all of us, she said, "You must all stay here, all of you. You will be safe here. I must fight this evil alone." Then, she ran from the room. The girls began to argue. "Why can't we too fight the evil? We are Sailor Scouts. We must defend the Moon Kingdom," said Princess Lita. "Yes but our first priority is to defend Serenity here, not run off into battle," my future mother said calmly. "I am not in need of protection now. We are safe here. Let my mother defeat the attacker. All will be well," Serenity replied, with wisdom that surprised me. I knew something was dreadfully wrong. I have to find out who is attacking. I ran quickly out of the room and through the corridors, trying to find my way outside. When I arrived outside the front of the Palace, I saw Queen Serenity poised to use the Crescent Moon Wand. "I will vanquish you, evil one. You will not harm this place today or ever!" she yelled angrily, pointing her wand at the attacker. Then, I saw the attacker and gasped. She had long red hair, parted down the middle of her head. She was adorned with small round ruby on her forehead. Its power glowed around her as round balls of energy shot from her hands, blasting Queen Serenity's guards as if they were paper. Holy Shit, it's Rhetta!! What the hell is Rhetta doing? And the Queen thinks she is Beryl! I have to stop them both! "Wait Queen Serenity, stop!" I yelled. I threw myself at her body, pushing her out of the way. A red beam of light hit me square in the shoulder, but my jewel appeared and its energy shielded the Queen and I from the intensity of the blast. The Queen shot me an angry look and tried to get up. "You can't kill her, My Queen. She's not who you think she is." Queen Serenity looked at me in shock. "You can't kill her! She's my friend!" I pleaded. The Queen's eyes widened in surprise. RHETTA The time portal closed behind them. Neo-Princess Serenity and Eden found themselves in the throne room of the Palace. Waiting to greet them were Neo-Queen Serenity and Lita. Lita quickly came up and hugged her daughter. Eden smiled at her mother, grateful to finally see her again. "It is good to see you, Mother. I have missed you greatly. It seems we have much to discuss." Lita smiled at her daughter and said, "Yes we do, Eden, I've been waiting for this moment for over a thousand years." Lita put her arm around her daughter and led her out of the room. "Let's get you cleaned up and fed, then we can talk." Neo-Queen Serenity and her daughter watched the two leave the throne room. They smiled at each other knowingly. "So, Reenie, I trust the mission went smoothly." Neo-Princess Serenity became very serious, "Electrolus was destroyed by Eden. Her power has definitely grown stronger. What worries me is that we revealed too much in the past. Has there been any serious changes?" She looked at her mother with a measure of worry. "Oh, don't you worry about that. You must remember I was there when it happened. I've argued with Sailor Pluto about that discussion for over a thousand years. She still says the two of you revealed too much. I think your information was necessary. At any rate, I'll deal with Setsuna, you must concentrate on finding the other four jewel wielders." She pulled her daughter out of the throne room and headed for their quarters. All of the sudden, Neo-Princess Serenity looked at her mother with an amused smile. "Now, Mother, must you continue to call me Reenie? That is sooo embarrassing..." *************************************************************************** ****** The flash of multicolored light disappeared and I found myself battling an army of smaller robots, similar to Electrolus. The small, round ruby on my head enveloped my body with its power as I blasted each robot in turn.. I lifted my hand and pointed it at each enemy. Spheres of red energy emerged from the palm of my hand, hitting the enemy with such force that they fell like toy soldiers in a game of war. I thought, Suddenly, I could see nothing else but Electrolus standing before me, demanding me to surrender. I gathered a large sphere of energy in the palm of my right hand and let it go with all of the force I could muster. Electrolus was not harmed. As I had attacked, a small figure had pushed Electrolus away and had absorbed the blast. I thought in rage. Before I could no anything more, a pair of arms came around me from behind, grasp, but my exhausted body could do nothing more. Suddenly, I heard a voice, "Rhetta, stop struggling. It's me, Amber. You're not in Crystal Tokyo. Stop fighting, you're safe here. Come on Rhetta, snap to it." The image before me changed. It was no longer Crystal Tokyo I could see, or Electrolus. I saw the Palace of the Moon Kingdom, a place I had only seen in paintings and Queen Serenity. The Queen shot me an intense look of rage, then she stomped away. The arms that had subdued me, loosened their grip. I turned around to see Amber, her short hair a mess, staring at me. "It's okay, Rhetta, you're safe now," she said. But I had seen Electrolus. I did not see the Moon Kingdom, or its Queen. I looked at Amber in confusion. I looked around in confusion again. Amber smiled at me reassuringly. "Nice to have you back again. Don't worry, I'll explain everything," she said this with a laugh. "I never thought another one of us would end up here. Who'd've thought." I looked at her, unable to speak. This has to be a dream. I can't really be in the Silver Millennium, Aunt Setsuna would never allow such a thing to happen. I pulled up the sleeve of my long blue sweater, to reveal a minicomputer mounted on my wrist. I began to analyze my surroundings. After a few moments, I looked up at my friend in amazement. This is unbelievable. "We really are in the Moon Kingdom...That means..." I exclaimed in horror, "that I really did try to kill Queen Serenity!" Amber grabbed me by the shoulders, pulled me to her and hugged me fiercely. "Don't worry about it. Everything's going to be okay. I promise." *************************************************************************** *********** Queen Serenity walked briskly into her throne room and slammed the door behind her. The noise that was created echoed wildly through the large room. She paced in from of her throne, back and forth, angry at everything that had happened. She threw herself, exhausted, onto her throne. The door of the throne room opened, and a worried Princess Serenity appeared. "Mother, are you well? I was told of the battle." She clasped her mother's hands in concern. "Yes, my daughter, I am well enough. But I do not suppose Amber and our latest guest are. Where are they now, do you know?" "The guards did not wish to disturb you," Princess Serenity replied with a grin, knowing well her mother's temper, "They reported to me instead. The girls are still in the courtyard of the Palace. The injured guards have been sent to the infirmary. No deaths resulted from the battle. The captain seems to feel that the girl is weak. If so, the guards are fortunate. There were no serious injuries." Queen Serenity nodded her approval. "Have the girls brought to the room assigned to Amber. Order our latest guest some appropriate clothing. Hopefully, she will not be as clumsy in them as Amber." The Queen could not help but laugh. Serenity giggled, "I noticed that too, mother." "Anyway, I'm certain they will be hungry. Have some food brought to them. Perhaps you can look in on them afterwards. I do not wish to see them now, in my state of mind." She grabbed her daughter by the cheeks and kissed her on the forehead affectionately. "I will do so, right away, Mother." She smiled and left the throne room. Queen Serenity watched her daughter leave. I was a fool to have impulsively attacked one as young as my daughter. I must remember to be more careful. ************************************************************************** Amber and I were led into the Palace by two armed guards. As we were led down several corridors I wondered if we were to be put into a prison cell. Amber did not look very worried about the situation and seemed to be more concerned about the dress she was wearing. I smiled. I cannot believe she is actually wearing that dress, she must truly hate it. The guards opened a door and ushered us into a room. It was a beautiful bedroom with the largest, most opulent canopy bed I had ever seen. We were ordered to remain here until summoned. I dreaded the inevitable meeting with Queen Serenity. My cheeks flushed with shame as I remembered my attack upon her. Amber dropped herself unceremoniously into an upholstered chair next to the bed. Someone had left a beautiful blue dress on the bed, with matching slippers. Amber looked over at the dress and said, "That one must be for you. At least you get a decent looking dress. I have to wear this wretched yellow thing. Yuck!" I tried very hard not to laugh at her words. "I mean look at me, the dress is down to my feet and I keep tripping on it. It's not bad enough that I look like.." "..A canary," I interrupted with a laugh. I ducked quickly to avoid the pillow that had been flung at my head. As I put on the dress, Amber explained everything that had happened and why we both ended up in the Silver Millennium. "I think that when all of the Jewel Wielders simultaneously tried to blast Electrolus into a giant rusted heap, our powers somehow collided and we were somehow sent to different times and places. I only hope Neo-Princess Serenity can find us." I agreed. "How long have you been here, Amber? "I think they found me this morning. I woke up this afternoon in this room. Some lady brought me this stupid dress." "Amber, the dress looks great on you." She only rolled her eyes at me. After I was done getting dressed, I sat down on the bed. "Therefore, I too went through a time portal and came here. I know that we are in the Silver Millennium, but when. I know that I attacked the Queen's army, but why did she attack me so quickly, that is unlike what I have learned about the Queen of the Silver Millennium." I looked at my friend, waiting anxiously for an answer. "Well, as far as I can tell, the attack by Metallia and the Dark Forces is not far away. I think that's why Queen Serenity attacked so quickly. I think she knows about Beryl and she's terrified. Why else would she attack you like that?" "We must proceed with caution, we can not reveal information unnecessarily. Too much, the event leading to the creation of Crystal Tokyo may never take place," I said this with great sincerity and Amber agreed with me. I looked at my friend with sudden nervousness. "Have you seen our future mothers? How do they look?" She became suddenly quiet and looked away from me. "Amber, what has taken place? What is wrong?" I grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look me in the eyes. "Oh, Rhetta, nothing is wrong. They are all young, happy, and carefree. It just kills me. I know what's going to happen to them. You should see her, my mother, she looks so happy. She's engaged to Jadeite, of all people. I can't stand to see them knowing what will happen to them so soon." I hugged my friend fiercely, as if to squeeze all of her sorrow from her. "I understand Amber, but there is nothing we can do." It troubles her that her mother has never fully recovered from her father's death. It is sad too, knowing that these young, vibrant girls will soon fight for their lives and lose. But, we know they will be reborn and face their futures. The futures they face will be wrought with strife, but they will survive. Crystal Tokyo will be a testament to that. "You must remember, my dear friend, that there is hope. All we can do is remember the vows we took before Neo-Queen Serenity to defend her daughter and Crystal Tokyo. We must protect our future the same as Princess Serenity and the Sailor Scouts alive in this time must do." Amber nodded in agreement, but it seemed to me that the knowledge of the future still weighed heavily upon her. "Amber, is Princess Mina really betrothed to Jadeite?" She only nodded. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "How ironic, that she should be engaged a future General of the Dark Forces. Perhaps it was merciful that they will not recover their memories in a thousand years when they are reborn." I could see that Amber did not know the answer to this question. *************************************************************************** *********** Neo-King Endymion walked casually into the private chambers he shared with his family. I am happy that Eden was found without great difficulty, but I am worried about the others. They need to be found quickly. He sat in a soft chair in his living room and watched his wife and daughter peer into the almost blinding light created by the Silver Imperium Crystal. "Any luck yet, Meatball head?" He smiled at his wife. She glanced sideways at her sarcastic husband and gave him a very unladylike look in return. Their daughter could not help but smile. "Yes, we have found Amber and Rhetta, but we haven't pinpointed where exactly in time they are," she answered her husband absentmindedly, concentrating on the light from the Crystal. Suddenly Neo-Princess Serenity gasped, "Look Mother, there you are! I can see you!" Neo-Queen Serenity looked harder into the light. Her eyes widened in alarm. "That's not me, that's Queen Serenity," she said with emphasis on the word queen. "That's my mother. Amber and Rhetta are in the Moon Kingdom. You must bring them back quickly! They're in grave danger. From what I can see." "I will find Setsuna," Neo-King Endymion said, as he rose from his chair. "I will meet you in the throne room when I have found her." Neo-Queen Serenity and Princess Serenity ran from their quarters and headed for the throne room. the Queen thought this, remembering the fierceness of Metallia over two thousand years before. *************************************************************************** *********** We were brought a meal. Amber and I ate in silence, devouring our food. Not soon after we had finished, there was a soft knock on the door. Princess Serenity entered the room and smiled pleasantly at us. We both stood up quickly, almost knocking over our empty trays that had carried our food. We both curtsied politely as we had been taught to do since birth. The Princess giggled. I knew she found Amber's attempts at protocol hilarious, considering her clumsiness. I tried not to chuckle, knowing Amber's temper. Poor Amber, she will always be a tomboy. My eyes met the Princess' and we both smiled knowingly. Amber eyed us both suspiciously and tried not to look annoyed at our amusement. "My mother sends her regrets that she could not see you. However, I would like to ask for your company for a walk through my gardens." "But first, My Princess, I must introduce myself. I am Rhetta, a life long friend of Amber's." I gracefully curtsied again and she nodded in recognition of my efforts. "Do you have power the same way Amber does Rhetta?" she asked me this, curious as any adolescent was. "Yes, I derive my powers from a small ruby. Would you like me to show you?" "I think not, we have seen enough of your powers today," she said this with a chuckle. Nevertheless, my cheeks burned red in embarrassment. I will not be allowed to forget that incident easily. The three of us strolled through the immense gardens of the Moon Kingdom for quite some time. Princess Serenity was a charming and pleasant companion who was not annoyed when we had to stop many times because Amber had tripped on the hem of her dress and had fallen. She talked with great adoration of her love, Prince Endymion and of their plans for the future. She also described, at great length, the other princesses of the Silver Millennium. To my surprise, she described my future mother first, Princess Amy. Princess Amy was to follow in her mother's footsteps to become the Queen of Mercury and the most powerful healer in the Silver Millennium. She described Princess Amy's remarkable intelligence and her thirst for knowledge. I thought, Next, she told us about Princess Rei and how she was going to be the High Priestess of Mars. Princess Serenity described Princess Lita, and how she was to marry the strongest, most handsome man on Jupiter to rule with her as King and Queen. Together, they would devise a brilliant plan to strengthen the defenses of the Silver Millennium. At last she spoke of Princess Mina's betrothal to Jadeite and their plans to rule Venus together. I could see the sadness in Amber's eyes as the Princess spoke of this. But the Princess also spoke of the beautiful stories written by the Princess of Venus and how she would someday be the literary genius of her time. When the Princess was not looking, or was busy in conversation with Amber, I activated my computer still attached to my wrist. It analyzed my surroundings including the many plants and flowers around me, as well as the many buildings surrounding us. I can't wait to study the data I have collected and show it to mother. This will intrigue her. Amber seemed to forget her troubles and her clumsiness as the evening passed. This walk has done her good. Perhaps she will feel better now. Suddenly, my computer beeped repeatedly. I knew the meaning of this and so did Amber. "What was that?" Princess Serenity asked, looking around for the source of the strange noise. "This is a warning for Amber and I that danger is approaching," I answered, analyzing the data my computer was receiving. Amber signaled the guards and said to the Princess, "Go with the guards, Princess Serenity. We will take care of this disturbance." Princess Serenity went off with the guards, and Amber looked at me questioningly. "Amber, a portal has opened. A robot has emerged, one as powerful as Electrolus." *************************************************************************** *********** Sailor Pluto waited anxiously in the throne room of Crystal Tokyo with Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion. The Queen was absentmindedly twirling a finger through one of her blond ponytails while the King tried hard to look calm as he sat austerely on his throne. The tall, green haired Sailor Scout looked at the two seriously. "Let us hope that Small Lady is able to retrieve Amber and Rhetta before the attack on the Moon Kingdom by the Dark Forces. If she fails, Crystal Tokyo as we know it will exist no longer." *************************************************************************** *********** Amber thought as she ran with Rhetta to confront their enemy. At the center of the courtyard stood a robot, similar in looks to Electrolus. I wonder why a different robot is after us? I hope one of the others has been able make a rust heap out of him. The power of their jewels enveloped them both, as their jewels appeared on their foreheads. They stopped in front of the robot. "I am Amber, wielder of the sacred amber jewel." "I am Rhetta, wielder of the sacred ruby." They grinned at each other and said in unison, "You will do no harm here." thought Amber. *************************************************************************** The robot responded to us with a blue laser blast. Amber and I avoided it easily. The Sailor Scouts have taught us well, I thought, we will make them proud today. Suddenly from behind I heard a voice yell, "Mars Fire Ignite!" "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" "Venus Crescent Beam Smash! "Mercury Bubbles Blast!" Their attacks hit the robot in its chest. Instead of doing the intended damage, their attacks bounced off the robot in all directions. The Sailor Scouts, Amber, and I were barely able to avoid all of the attacks ricocheting throughout the courtyard. The robot seized the opportunity that was opened to it and began to send blasts of a blue laser in all directions. Amber yelled, "Sailor Mercury, can you use your visor to search for a weakness in its armor? Rhetta, can you do the same with your computer?" Mercury nodded and I answered, "Yes, but I will need a few moments distraction." "Not a problem," answered Amber. Amber ran to the robot, jumped up, and grabbed onto its metallic face. Her power concentrated itself in her hands, sending spirals of amber energy all over the robot. Mercury scanned the robot. "I see a weakness, at the back of the robot." "Yes, I see it too," I agreed, "There is a gap in its armor at the nape of its neck." The robot flung Amber off of its face as if she were a rag doll. Amber stood up again and said, "Rhetta, you and I can handle that, Sailor Scouts can you keep that junk heap busy?" "Sure thing!" replied Sailor Mars. "Mars fire ignite!" Fire erupted from her hands, whizzing by the robots head. It turned towards her. "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" Thunder and lightning flew past the robot's feet, causing it to sway unevenly. "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" The beam of hearts flew past the other side of the robots head, and the robot began to fall. "Now, Amber, Rhetta!" Mercury yelled. I ran, with Amber behind the falling robot. I allowed a small sphere of red energy to blast from the palm of my hand towards the robot. A spiral of amber colored energy surrounded the sphere and it hit the robot's neck with such an intensity that it shattered the robot's outer armor. When the robot hit the ground, it exploded in a ball of fire and smoke. We were all thrown off of our feet from the intensity of the blast. The Sailor Scouts rolled easily to their feet, as if nothing had happened and so did Amber, despite her despised yellow dress. Unfortunately, I landed on my side and had the breath knocked out of me. Sailor Mercury ran to me. Grabbing my shoulders, she gently helped me up, searching my face for any further signs of harm. Suddenly her eyes widened and she said, "You look just like me." I smiled at her. "I know." Suddenly a time portal opened directly in front of the ruins of the robot. Neo-Princess Serenity emerged from the portal and gasped at the scene before her. "Amber, Rhetta you must come quickly. There is no time to waste." I turned to Sailor Mercury and hugged her. "Till we meet again," I whispered in her ear, and made my way to the portal with Amber. Amber looked back at Sailor Venus, who stared at the pink haired Princess in shock. "May you find your happiness, Mother," she whispered, so softly, I could barely hear her. We followed our Princess into the time portal. *************************************************************************** *********** "Could she be my daughter?" Sailor Mercury wondered, looking at the others questioningly. "I don't know, Mercury, but I think we will have to wait a long time to find out," replied Jupiter seriously. "Or we may never find out," said Sailor Venus. The four Sailor Scouts made their way back to the Palace, to report to their Princess and their Queen. LYN Neo-Queen Serenity paced around the room. "Why is it taking so long?" she said, forgetting her queenly composure. Setsuna only shook her head. She did not know the answer. It should not have taken this long. Perhaps Small Lady did not arrive in time. But then, we are still here. Amy and Mina ran into the room. "We came as soon as we heard," said Mina breathlessly. "Will they be all right?" asked Amy. She understood that while this had already taken place, anything could go wrong. Neo-King Endymion answered solemnly, "We can only wait and see." Lita and Eden entered the room, looking worried themselves. "Aunt Setsuna, would you like me to go after them? I am well rested now and could aid them." Setsuna only smiled at the girl's bravery. "No Eden, your offer is appreciated though. I cannot be certain where in the time portal they are. It is too dangerous." Eden watched as her Aunt Rei and her husband entered the room. She looked as if she was going to cry. She too was worried. Her husband pulled her down into a chair next to himself. They too were prepared to wait. "Then all I can do is wait with you," Eden said. ************************************************* I was dropped from the time portal, but thankfully landed on a nice mound of green grass. The time portal closed as quickly as it had appeared. I thought, Pulling my tall frame upright, I looked around and smiled. Before I could move, a hand grabbed me by the forearm and whirled me around. Before me stood a woman of about twenty-one. She was tall and lanky with long black hair and brown eyes. I recognized her immediately. "Come on Chad, don't just stand there. You promised me a shopping trip. Let's go." Before I could respond, she grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her. She lead me out of the park and to a nearby shopping mall, all the while talking about the temple and the sacred fire and of things that needed to be done. This is going to be a very long day, I thought as my future mother dragged me into mall. ************************************************* Rei thought pulling Chad behind her, She had loaded him up with so many boxes that she couldn't even see his face anymore. And look at his hair, he never ever takes such good care of it. I wonder what's going on. She pushed and pulled him through a crowd of people, cautioning him not to lose any of the parcels. Rei suddenly stopped, causing her companion to bump into her and almost drop the parcels. Suddenly her eyes became very wide. she thought. She shuddered at the thought. Giving up the rest of her shopping spree, she grabbed Chad by the arm, pulled him through the crowd and led him all the way to the Cherry Hill Temple. ************************************************* Upon entering the Cherry Hill Temple, I now knew what it was like to go shopping with my mother in Old Tokyo. Man, the next time my dad says, "Son, someday you'll understand." I'll have to remember to be more sympathetic with him. Shopping with my mom is a drag, even if she isn't quite my mom yet. She pulled me into the living room and instructed me to put on the parcels on the coffee table. A figure appeared in the doorway leading to the rest of the house and we both turned to see who was there. "Ah Rei," the figure said. "Chad?" Rei asked. She looked at slowly at Chad, then at me, as he stood in the doorway, many times. Her eyes became round in shock and her mouth hung open in wordless surprise. "Hey Man, you look just like me!!" Chad exclaimed, pointing a finger at me in apparent surprise and delight. Rei studied my face carefully, as if to memorize every detail. "Who are you?" she asked, touching my cheek with her hand in amazement. I thought, "My name is Lyn, I come from Crys.." "You're from Crystal Tokyo," she quickly interjected, "and you're one of the Jewel Wielders sworn to protect the Princess." I only nodded my reply. "But that means you're his child and...." Her eyes became round and wide and she turned red with embarrassment. "I am to have a child with HIM!?" she shouted, pointing in Chad's direction. "Why on earth would I want to do something like that? With HIM!" "That is soo totally cool! You're going to actually like me someday!" said my future father. "As if that's ever going to happen!" Rei shouted back, pacing the length of the rug under her feet. "Hey," Chad exclaimed, unbothered by all the news, "if you're from the future, you must know Eden, Lita's kid, the one I heard about six years ago!" Suddenly, Rei slumped to the floor, unconscious. "She fainted!" Chad exclaimed, worried. I knelt down next to her, and rolled her onto her back. Her face was white, but her pulse steady. "She'll be all right," I said. "Could you please get her some water, I think she'll need it when she wakes up." Chad ran out of the room, I could hear him tearing around the kitchen, knocking things over. I picked up my future mother and laid her down on the couch near the coffee table. I sat down next to her and smoothed the hair off of her face. Rei opened her eyes slowly and looked up at me. "I know, it's a lot to swallow at once," I said, smiling gently down at her. There was a loud bang in the kitchen. "He doesn't seem to be to upset about it." She rolled her eyes. "He's known I am Sailor Mars since the beginning, and about all the Scouts, and even about Serena and Darien. He only told me a couple weeks ago. So I told him about Crystal Tokyo. I guess nothing surprises him anymore." "You're both taking this awfully well, I know I wouldn't," I chuckled. She sat up just as Chad brought in a huge glass of water. She sipped it thoughtfully. Chad stood by the couch not wanting to leave her side. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Hello! Chad, Rei, Grampa, anyone home?" a voice asked from outside. "OH NO!" said Rei, jumping to her feet in alarm. "It's Serena!" ************************************************* Just as Princess Serenity, Amber, and Rhetta entered, there was a shift in the time portal. "What's happening?" asked Amber. "I have no clue," Princess Serenity answered, fear in her large red eyes. she thought. Rhetta analyzed her surroundings with her computer. "The time portal has changed, our destination will be different." "This can't be happening," said Serenity. "Where are we going to end up?" "I do not know," said Rhetta as the time portal opened before them. ************************************************* Serena banged insistently on the door again. "What are we going to do?" asked Rei in a panic, "She can't know about this. I'll never live this one down. She's been trying to get us together for years." Chad only smiled. I tried not to, knowing fully the force of my future mother's temper. "Come on Rei, it's not like she's NEVER going to find out," Chad answered her with a very amused grin. Before they could make a decision, Serena walked in. She was in a pair of light blue jeans and a light pink knit top. I couldn't believe it. She no longer looks like the child I have seen in so many pictures. She looks like Neo-Queen Serenity! Before I could stop myself, I bowed in respect as I had been taught to do so many years before. Chad, Rei, and Serena all looked at me speechless, horrified at my actions. Serena gave Rei a questioning look. "Ah, Rei, who is this guy and why is he bowing to me?" Rei, reluctantly answered, her face red with embarrassment. "This is Lyn and he is from Crystal Tokyo." Serena smiled, obviously pleased. "Oh, I get it." She looked at me, "Please don't bow to me. I'm just plain old Serena here." Rei gave her an annoyed look. "Yea, a very rude Serena. Didn't your parents ever teach you not to barge into people's houses." "Oh, I'm sorry. I just couldn't wait. I just received a letter from Darien. He's coming home for a couple of weeks." Rei rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's okay Serena. Anyway, Lyn showed up about two hours ago, and I dragged him shopping with me, thinking he was Chad." Serena suddenly looked at me, and her eyes widened. "Hey, you do look like Chad, only different. Your eyes are not the same, more like Re.." Her face burst into an amused smile and she looked from Rei to Chad knowingly. "Is there something between the two of you I should know about? I always knew you two would get together." "Serena, nothing is going on. He's from Crystal Tokyo, you meatball head!" Serena just chuckled in amusement. "Maybe not now, but later..." "See, I told you she'd never let me live this down," Rei said angrily to Chad. I quietly made my way outside to avoid the argument. It was no use though, I could still hear the two women argue. Once in a while Chad could be heard in an attempt to interject his opinion. But he would be told to shut up by both Rei and Serena. I just hope they don't start blowing raspberries at each other. I don't need that. I sat myself down on the soft grass, under an old tree. I wonder if Princess Serenity has found all of others yet. Chad mentioned something about Eden, but nothing of the others. I hope everything turns out okay. I suddenly heard footsteps. Chad appeared and sat down beside me. I looked at my future father, so young and awkward looking and wondered how he would ever become the serious man who was responsible for the teaching of music and art to the children of Crystal Tokyo. God, he looks like someone's embarrassing kid, not the future expert of music and art. I gave him a serious look. "You're taking this all very well." I stated. "It's well, like this..." Chad began, trying hard to explain himself. "I've been hanging around this temple with Rei and Grampa for like seven years. Cool isn't it? I've saw Grampa turn into this totally wicked monster, I've seen the Sailor Scouts appear out of nowhere, funny Rei and her friends always seemed to like `poof' disappear. That cool dude Tuxedo Mask always appeared in the nick of time, funny Serena's boyfriend Darien disappeared too. I've seen cute little Reenie running around, looking just like Serena, talking about her mom. Rei and her friends have whispered about a place called Crystal Tokyo. And to top it off, their cats talk, like I'm not supposed to notice that. I may talk, you know, like a beach bum, but I'm not totally dense." "It must have been hard for you, why did you stay?" He smiled. "I stayed for Rei. She's a totally cool babe. She may boss me around, tell me what to do, yell at me. But I know she loves me. I just wish she would, like, admit it for once." "She will." I replied, "I'm proof of that." ************************************************* The time portal opened and Princess Serenity, Amber, and Rhetta found themselves in a beautiful park full of cherry trees. Princess Serenity looked around her and smiled at her companions. "Well girls, I know where we are," she said with obvious pleasure. Rhetta analyzed her surroundings with her computer. "I do not recognize our location. Where are we?" she asked, never once lifting her eyes from the tiny screen of her computer. "Come on, don't leave us in suspense," said Amber, flinging her hair out of her face with a flick of her right hand. Princess Serenity smiled. "We are in old Tokyo. I'm not sure when, but I know who we can look for to help us." "Well, what are we waiting for?" Amber asked. Amber followed her princess out of the park, dragging an oblivious Rhetta by the arm. ************************************************* We all sat down together for a meal. I thought to myself, watching Serena, Rei and Chad, Serena gobbled down every bite on her plate, mumbling enthusiastically about how good the food was. Rei ate quietly, rolling her eyes occasionally because of Serena. She never once glanced at Chad throughout the meal. Chad ate quietly. He seemed unconcerned about Serena and frequently glanced at Rei and smiled. I discovered quickly that I was very hungry and wolfed down a good amount of food myself. Rei suddenly glanced around the room. She stopped in mid-bite and stood up. "I sense people approaching the temple. Not the normal visitors we usually encounter." We all jumped up from our meal and went out the front door of the temple. We watched as three figures entered the temple grounds. By the light of the Moon, we could barely see them. In the center was a woman with long ponytails down to her ankles. To her left was a short figure in a long, flowing gown and to her right was a taller figure, though not as tall as she, also in a flowing gown. I gasped before the others could recognize them. We watched silently as they came into the light from the porch. I walked quickly up to the three strangers and hugged the tallest one quickly. Then I stepped back and bowed eloquently, as Rei, Chad, and Serena gasped as they saw a grown Princess Serenity. Princess Serenity made a face at me. "Come on Lyn, you're as bad as the others. Don't do that, you know I hate it when you bow." I smiled at Amber. "Hey Lyn, nice place you ended up in." She squirmed uncomfortably. "What's wrong, Amber, don't like your dress?" I teased. Rhetta looked up from her little wrist computer and giggled. "Amber had been having a difficult time in her dress. She has tripped many times on its hem." I tried not to laugh, knowing the intensity of the punch I could expect from my strong friend. "Never thought I'd see you in a dress. Your mother will pass out in shock when I tell her," I said. "Don't you dare. Bad enough I look like a canary," she said, casting an evil eye at her skirts. "I'm not touching that statement," I replied, shaking my head. Rhetta looked at me and held out her hand. I grabbed it and pulled her to me. Still hugging her fiercely, I asked, "Are the three of you all right?" "Oh sure," said Amber, who always reacted easily to new situations, "we're fine." Rhetta let go of me a bit to look up at her friend in disgust. "You are wounded Amber. That is quite some laser blast you have on your side." Amber shrugged it off. "Oh, its nothing and you know that." There was suddenly an insistent cough behind us. We turned to see Rei, her arms crossed, eyeing us all. "Would someone mind telling us what's going on?" ************************************************* Setsuna shook her head. "I am sorry, My Queen, I do not know where they ended up. I told you before, the past is not permanent, just because it happened then doesn't mean it will not change now." "I could go to find them," Neo-Queen Serenity said, hoping that her daughter and her companions would be all right. "No. You, the Scouts and the King are needed here to help defend against a possible attack from Yansen's army. No, there is only one who can find everyone now," Setsuna replied. Neo-Queen Serenity, Neo-King Endymion, Lita, Mina, Amy, Rei, Chad, and Setsuna all turned to look at their only hope. Eden stood up and looked at the group of adults before her. "I am ready. I will find them all." ************************************************* Serena looked at her future daughter with amazement. "Good to see you again, Reenie." Serenity looked at her future mother. "It is good to see you too, Serena," she said this hesitantly as she studied Serena intently. Serena's eyes widened in horror. "Is there something wrong? What is it?" She grabbed her future daughter's shoulders, waiting for horrible news. Serenity chuckled nervously. "No.. there is nothing wrong. And except for the robot army, Crystal Tokyo is fine. It's just that you look so much like my mother now, Serena. You don't look like the girl that used to steal my snacks and tease me so many years ago. It's so hard not to see you as my mother, not to see you as the Queen." Serena smiled, grabbed the pink hairdo adolescent's hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "Oh, Reenie, I totally know where you're coming from. It was soo weird for you to be with me, years ago, knowing that you were going to be my kid someday. I always had these feelings that I could never quite explain. I was afraid to teach you something for fear that Neo-Queen Serenity would have wanted to teach you herself. Don't worry, I get it." Rei looked at Amber, who had seated herself on the steps of the temple and at Rhetta, who hadn't yet let go of Lyn. "So, where were the two of you, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you were in the Moon Kingdom. Wow, look at those dresses, they're beautiful." Amber rolled her eyes. "Yep, we were definitely in the Silver Millennium. And if you want you can have my dress. You should try fighting in it. All I did was trip on the skirts." Rhetta pushed herself out of Lyn's arms and walked over to Rei, Chad, Serena, and the Princess. "I would suppose that introductions are in order. This is Amber and I am Rhetta. I understand that you all know Princess Serenity." Chad laughed. "Oh, yah, but when I knew her, she was like really little and we called Reenie." Everyone laughed in response. Lyn suddenly became very serious. "Rhetta, why are you here? Have you come to take me back already?" Rhetta shook her head. "No, there was a shift in the time portal. The destination changed and we became stranded here," Rhetta replied. "It's up to Sailor Pluto to find us now." As Princess Serenity said this, Amber, Rhetta, Lyn, Rei, and Serena all groaned. "Oh, are we going to hear about it now," said Amber. "I'm still hearing about the talk we had with Eden six years ago. She swears that we shouldn't have learned as much as we did," Serena said, dreading the new speech she could see coming. "Well there's no sense in standing out here until it happens," Rei commented. "Let's get everyone in the house. I'll find some clothes so you can change out of those dresses." Amber got up from the steps and said, "Best news I've heard all day." They all entered the house, ready for a long wait. ************************************************* The power emanating from the Silver Imperium Crystal was brilliant. Setsuna and Neo-Queen Serenity were busy staring into the light in hopes of finding the children. "I can see them," said Neo-Queen Serenity to Setsuna. "They're at the Cherry Hill Temple with Rei, Chad, and me. Look, there's Amber, Rhetta, Reenie, and look, there's Lyn." She looked up and smiled. "They're all safe." "Wait, I see another portal opening," warned Setsuna. "There are four robots that are about to enter that time. The children are in grave danger." There is much at stake now. Damn. She looked at Eden. "You must first retrieve Hannah, she is more powerful then the rest of you. You will need her to help fight the four robots. When you have found her, you will both be sent to the others to defeat the robots. When the battle has ended, I will bring you all home." Setsuna transformed quickly into Sailor Pluto and opened a time portal. "Be well Eden," Sailor Pluto said to her, "We are counting on you." "I will make you all proud," Eden answered and flung herself into the time portal. HANNAH I thought as I exited the time portal I had been somehow thrust into. Landing on my knees on hard stone, I turned quickly to see one of Yargus' robots as it prepared to attack me. A long staff made of dark wood appeared suddenly in my hand, topped with a large, round sapphire gem. I pointed it at the robot and a large blast of blue-black energy struck my enemy with such force that it disintegrated as the time portal closed behind it. I stood up and peered down at the pile of debris that had once been my enemy. Then, I decided to study my surroundings to ascertain the time and place of my arrival. ************************************************* Neo-Queen Serenity quickly paced back and forth in front of her throne, frustrated by her feelings of helplessness. "It didn't happen this way the first time. They all came home, one by one, safely. We all remember this, we saw it happen," she said, turning in exasperation to Setsuna. Setsuna only shook her head. "My Queen, I have told you many times. The future is not fixed. It can definitely be changed. That is why I have stressed the need to never reveal future events to those in the past. And, since the future can be changed, so can the past, which therefore, changes the future. Tell me that you finally understand." "Oh, I always understood, Setsuna, but I have always believed that some things are meant to be." Neo-Queen Serenity looked at her husband sitting calmly on his throne. She smiled gently at him. "Since the past has been altered, can I not be sent to help the children?" Setsuna sighed. "We have already sent enough people into the past. If we send any more we risk changing the timeline. Crystal Tokyo must be preserved. Plus," Setsuna replied, "Ray, Chad, and your younger self are there to help them fight. The Princess and Serena, your younger self, can both become Sailor Moon. You must not forget that." Setsuna looked around the empty throne room. The Queen had sent the others away to wait in their quarters or to attend to their duties. She wished the Sailor Scouts were present to help her deal with the Queen's rising temper. Nervously, she looked at Neo-King Endymion for help. He smiled. "Meatball head, face it. There's nothing you can do right now. We just have to wait." The Queen turned to face her husband, annoyed at his continued calm. "How can you be calm at a time like this?" she shouted suddenly, as she pointed an accusing index finger at him. He grabbed her wrist with one of his large hands gently and with the other, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "We've faced a lot more than a few robots. You don't forget Beryl, or Demando, or Galaxia do you?" Serenity shook her head in answer. "So don't worry. The kids are strong, all of them. Eden will bring Hannah to the others. Together they can beat a few robots." Neo-King Endymion pulled his wife down to sit beside him. He turned to her and gently caressed her cheek. "You mustn't worry, My Queen, they are the children of Crystal Tokyo, they can defeat anything," said Endymion. Serenity wasn't convinced. ************************************************* I found myself in the ruined city of Crystal Tokyo, during the attack of the Black Moon family. I thought, I walked down a dark street, careful not to trip over the crumbled ruins of once beautiful buildings. The danger facing Crystal Tokyo is grave, it will be difficult not to interfere. I turned the corner of the crumbled building before me and saw a sight that shocked even me. There, being led down the street was my mother. She was being led by two tall women dressed in Sailor Scout outfits. I strained to hear their hurried conversation. "Hotaru, what were you thinking? You cannot fight in your condition. Think of the baby," said a deep female voice, I recognized instantly as Sailor Uranus. "But I must, I cannot let them destroy Crystal Tokyo." The woman gasped again, clutching her swollen belly. My eyes widened in surprise. Hotaru looked at Sailor Uranus. "I came to help. I came to heal to protect Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion," she said this quietly, I could barely hear her. Hotaru's second companion looked down at her and spoke in a gentle tone, "But, this is not logical for you. Sailor Pluto has her own problems, she cannot help you know. What will you do? We cannot be with you much longer, we must return to the battle." The misery in her voice revealed that she truly wanted to stay with my mother. I concentrated so much on the three women's conversation, that I did not pay heed to my footsteps. I tripped over a mass of crumbled sidewalk, and with a loud shriek I landed face down into the rubble. I healed my cuts instantly, having my mother's healing abilities, but my embarrassment did not abate so quickly. "Who is there?" Sailor Neptune called out, pulling Hotaru behind her. Suddenly I heard Sailor Uranus begin her attack. "World Shaking!" I jumped quickly to my feet and faced the force of her attack. My staff appeared in my hands and I deflected her attack with a forcefield, created from my jewel, that surrounded me. My staff disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and I raised my hands in surrender. "Please do not attack again!" I pleaded, "I will not harm anyone." I walked slowly up to the three women. I did not wish to do battle with Sailor Uranus or Sailor Neptune, though I wondered if my jewel could match their powers. Slowly and carefully I walked up to the women. This is not the situation I had intended myself to be in. ************************************************* Sailor Uranus thought in frustration, The tall, blond haired Sailor Scout studied the girl. She was as short as Neo-Queen Serenity once was, with straight hair that was gathered in a ponytail high at the back of her head. Her hair was so black, it was almost blue. Her eyes, wide and round, were so brown, they were almost black themselves. Sailor Uranus looked at the girl standing before them and then looked at Sailor Neptune, as if to ask what next to do. Sailor Neptune answered her friend's look with a smile. She turned to the girl and asked, "Who are you?" Sailor Uranus looked at her with anger. "Michiru, look at what's going on, we don't have time for introductions. We have to get back to the battle, but what will we do?" "I will stay with her," the teenaged girl replied. "I will keep her safe." Sailor Uranus looked to Sailor Neptune again; who only shook her head, since she did not know what to do either. "It is not like we have a choice, Haruka." They both nodded in agreement. "I think you are forgetting that I am here," said Hotaru, pushing herself away from her two protective friends. "You're forgetting that I can take care of myself." The girl looked directly at Hotaru and said, "But you should not give birth alone. The buildings are collapsing around us as we speak. If something happens, I can easily protect us both." "She did deflect your attack rather easily, Haruka," reminded Michiru with a grin. She nodded and the two Sailor Scouts quickly teleported away. ************************************************* I led my mother to one of the buildings still standing, and cleared the clutter from a bedroom I had found. She sat down on the bed, turned away from me and began to cry. I sat down next to her and put my arms around her small shoulders. Her whole body shuddered with each sob, it was hard for me not to cry for her. She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face, and said, "I should never have come here. I only wanted to help. I should never have snuck through the time portal with Sailor Pluto. I was too late, Neo-Queen Serenity has already been hurt. Now, I have only endangered my baby. I was not supposed to have the baby for another month. Now I'm stuck giving birth in a dirty, half broken down building, with someone I don't even know." I looked at Hotaru and said, "You only wished to do good. You cannot be blamed for that." Her tears did not stop. "But I am so weak now, the birth will not go well." "I am here, and I will not let anything happen to you or to your child," I replied, hugging my mother. "Now you must rest." She laid herself down on the bed and fell instantly to sleep. I went into the next room and found myself a stool to sit on. There was nothing else that had survived the attacks. I sat myself next to the bed and prepared myself for a long night of waiting. I smiled. ************************************************* Eden stepped quickly out of the portal and looked around, searching for Hannah. She began to search the city, slowly climbing over rubble and searching into buildings. Looking around at the ruined state of Crystal Tokyo she sighed. Finding her may take quite some time. ************************************************* Not half an hour later, Hotaru sat straight up in bed, looked at me with wide eyes and screamed, "It's time! The baby is coming!" she said with a horrified tone of voice. "That was a very rapid labor," I replied. She shook her head. "Oh no, I've been in labor for three hours," she replied, tearing off first her shoes, then her socks and then her pants. I helped her undress, not worried about the situation. "That is still a very quick labor," I said casually. Hotaru sat herself against the wall, grabbed her bent knees and began to push. She pushed so hard, her face turned red and I thought she would faint. She relaxed for a moment, her face turning pale again and repeated this process several times. "You were correct," I commented casually, "You can take care of yourself." I looked down to check her progress. "You are doing well. I can see the head," I said with growing excitement. Suddenly the baby slid from Hotaru's body and she slumped to her side, unconscious. I looked to my mother and the baby crying on the bed and did not know who to help first. Taking off my jacket, I picked up the baby and wrapped her in it. "It's a girl," I said out loud, crying from the joy of her birth. I suddenly thought. I put the baby down for a moment and went to help my mother. I put my hand on her abdomen and closed my eyes. The jewel's power glowed brightly around me as I concentrated on healing my mother's wounds. After searching for a few seconds, I found a garment that was still clean and did my best to clean off my mother. I dragged the soiled bedding out from under her and clumsily put her clothing, her socks, and her shoes back on. She awoke slowly and I picked up the baby and put her in her mother's arms, my mother's arms. Hotaru cried as she looked down at her new baby and I cried too, not simply because of the beauty of the moment, but because of sight of my mother cradling me in her arms for the first time. Now I would always remember the moments of my birth. "Her name will be Hannah," Hotaru said through her tears, and I cried even harder. ************************************************* Soon after that, a time portal opened outside and Sailor Pluto walked into the room. She looked down at Hotaru and baby Hannah, gasped, looked up at me, gasped and then she shook her head. She looked at me and said, "Eden is not far from here. Go find her." I stayed long enough to see my mother, my past self, and Sailor Pluto enter the time portal. Then I set out to find my friend. Ten minutes later I found Eden. I ran up to her and hugged her. "Are you all right, Hannah?" she asked with sincere concern. I wiped the tears from my face with the back of one hand. "I am well. No, actually I am the happiest child in the world." Eden only looked at me, as if to wonder if I had actually been injured. "We must go through the time portal quickly, Hannah. There is grave danger in the past. Four robots are about to arrive in Old Tokyo. Amber, Rhetta, and Lyn are there as well as Serena, Raye, and Chad. We have to go help them." I nodded in reply and we made our way to the time portal. "Hannah, did you encounter a robot?" Eden suddenly asked. I only pointed to a pile of metallic remains that had once been the enemy that had followed me through the time portal. My friend looked at me and smiled. "We will save Old Tokyo without a doubt," she replied, as the time portal closed behind us. THE COMING OF EVIL Rhetta sat on the stairs of the temple and gazed at the stars. She had been unable fall asleep. Despite Princess Serenity's assurances, she could not help but worry about their situation. At least this was the reason she was trying to convince herself of. Deeper more troublesome thoughts plagued her mind. A door shut softly behind her and Lyn walked up to her. He sat beside her and put a comforting arm around her. She smiled gratefully and leaned against him. In a soft voice he asked, "What's wrong, Rhetta, you should be sleeping now?" She did not look at him. "There may be more robots following us." She paused for a moment, lost in her own thoughts. "I decided to keep watch." Lyn put his other arm around Rhetta and hugged her. "Don't you remember that Rei said she would be able to sense any robots entering this place and time through a portal?" He asked this gently, not wanting to upset her further. Rhetta reluctantly nodded her agreement. He understands that there is another issue troubling me. She looked up at him then turned her head away from his insistent gaze. "Oh Lyn, Amber told me that I should not be concerned about this. But I cannot forget it. I am so ashamed of myself, of my actions.... What if they somehow remember?" "Rhetta I don't understand. What happened? What if who remembers?" Lyn asked, not understanding what she was talking about. He pushed her away a bit and turned to face her. "Rhetta, you can tell me anything. It doesn't matter what it is." She sighed. "Amber and I found ourselves in the Moon Kingdom, only not at the same time. She arrived a few hours early than I. But when I exited the portal I was not aware that my surroundings had changed. I thought that I was engaged in battle with Electrolus and I tried to destroy him." She paused for a moment. "But I was confused, terribly. I did not actually attack Electrolus, but Queen Serenity." She watched his face react in surprise to her words. "I almost killed Queen Serenity. I almost destroyed all of us." Lyn's eyes widened as he began to process what he had heard. "Since we're still here, I'm gathering you didn't kill her," he stated. She shook her head embarrassed. "No, thankfully I did not kill her. Amber pushed Queen Serenity out of danger and absorbed the blast with her jewel's energy. But I almost killed her. Do you not understand I almost destroyed Princess Serenity's future? If I had killed her, Mettalia's attack might have been successful, Serenity and the Sailor Scouts would never have had a future. Crystal Tokyo might never have been created, Princess Serenity, Eden, Amber, Hannah, you, and I might never be born." She clutched his broad shoulders with a fierce grip in an attempt to communicate her emotions. "Rhetta, that wasn't your fault. You didn't know where you were. Plus, not everyone reacts well to time portals at all times. It's not like we had any warning that we were going through one," Lyn replied, hoping to calm her doubts. "I am aware of that. But I should have evaluated my situation more carefully," she insisted. "There was not time to take further stock of the situation. It's okay, you were doing your job, protecting the Princess." He grabbed her hands and smiled. "I'm proud of you. You never once hesitated, you fought bravely." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "And I love you all the more for it." They smiled at each other. "Do you think the that Neo-Queen Serenity and the Sailor Scouts will remember that Amber and I briefly visited Crystal Tokyo?" she asked him seriously. "I remember my mother saying that when they were purified by the Silver Crystal at the creation of Crystal Tokyo, everyone from the Silver Millennium who had been reborn regained their lost memories. But don't worry about their reactions, they've all experienced battle. So Amber was right, there's nothing to worry about." Rhetta smiled in response. "I suppose you are correct." ************************************************* Amber tossed and turned on her mat on the floor. She was attempting to sleep next to Princess Serenity who had been lucky enough to sleep on the couch. But the Princess was also tossing and turning. In exasperation, Princess Serenity sat up and punched her pillow a few times, trying to even out the squished stuffing. She stopped to looked out the living room window and saw Lyn and Rhetta together. Amber pushed herself up on an elbow and smiled. "They're enough to make a person sick aren't they." Princess Serenity looked down at Amber and smiled in agreement. "You missed it Amber, they just kissed," she teased, knowing that the thought of those two kissing was enough to make her friend gag. "Oh please, spare me all of the gory details," Amber replied. She became serious. "I hope Rhetta's okay. I don't think she had time to let what happened in the Moon Kingdom sink in." Princess Serenity stopped and asked, "What happened? Amber sat up and crossed her legs in Indian style." Rhetta came out of the time portal shooting. She thought that she was still in Crystal Tokyo. Queen Serenity thought that she was Beryl, you know because of her read hair, and tried to kill Rhetta. Well, Rhetta retaliated and almost killed Queen Serenity. I pushed the Queen away just in time. Rhetta took it pretty hard at first, but then I told her what was bothering me." "What was bothering you?" asked the Princess. "Well, I met my mother in the Moon Kingdom. Not Mina from Tokyo, but Mina, Princess of Venus, betrothed to Jadeite. She looked so happy. It just made me so sad." Princess Serenity nodded in understanding. "Because Jadeite would soon become an evil pawn of Beryl?" she asked. "Yes," answered Amber, "but also because I hadn't seen my mother that happy in so long, not since my dad died. I just want her to be happy again." "I know, but Aunt Mina will be happy again. She's strong and has already faced many hard situations. Just be there for her." She smiled. "Did you happen to talk to my future mother???" "Oh yes. She showed Rhetta and I around her garden. It was nice, but I kept tripping on my stupid dress they had me wear." She rolled her eyes, annoyed at the memory. "I looked like a canary. Anyway, Princess Serenity told us about herself and all of the Princesses. It was great! Rhetta spent the whole time analyzing everything around her with that little wrist computer of hers." The Princess chuckled. "Yes, that's Rhetta." Amber suddenly looked puzzled. "Serenity, if you're here, who's going to rescue us? I hope it's not Pluto, she won't be too impressed with the situation." "It will probably be Sailor Pluto, she does control the time portal. But don't worry about her, Mother has vowed to handle her wrath." "That's a relief, I don't want to get blasted for having said too much in the Moon Kingdom." They both began to yawn and soon drifted off to sleep. ************************************************* Rei sat up and pushed her companion right out of her bed. "Listen, Meatball head, I said you could share my bed tonight, as long as you promised to remember who's in bed with you. So keep your hands to yourself!!!!" "Oh sorry Rei," Serena answered, as she crawled back under the covers, "I must of been dreaming about Darien." "Oh that's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway," Rei replied, rolling on the her side. "How come, you mediated already, didn't you?" "Of course. But it's not that. After Rhetta, Amber, and Reenie came I consulted the sacred fire. I saw more robots coming, robots stronger than the one Eden destroyed years ago. I also saw Eden, I think she will come back here, but not alone. I also saw a girl, with long dark hair and eyes." "Gee Rei, do you think she's another one of your kids?" Serena teased her friend. "I don't know, Serena, quit it will you?" Rei responded in annoyance. "Sorry Rei, I know how it can be to find out about a future child." Rei suddenly groaned and banged on the wall near her. "Chad, would you stop that snoring!!!! You sound like a freight train! Come on, people are trying to sleep." The noise quickly stopped. "I can't believe him," continued Rei, "His future child drops in for a visit, then Reenie arrives with two more future kids and he doesn't even blink." She grabbed her pillow, covered her head with in and tried in vain to sleep. ************************************************* A time portal opened in the courtyard before the steps of the temple. Lyn and Rhetta descended the stairs and greeted the newcomers. To their surprise, it was Eden and Hannah. Rhetta looked that them in surprise. "Eden, Hannah, why are you here?" "We must prepare, four robots will soon arrive and will attack Old Tokyo," replied Eden. Rhetta and Lyn looked at the newcomers in shock. Rei joined the group, followed by Serena. "And who do we have here?" Rei asked, as she stared at Hannah with suspicion. "I am Hannah. I have come to help fight the robots," answered Hannah in her usual serious tone. "Hannah is Hotaru's future child," explained Eden. She sensed the tension in Rei. "And, she is comparably as powerful as her future mother." Serena's eyebrows raised in surprise. "There is much to do now," said Rhetta, anticipating a long night of planning. "But that will have to wait until the morning," replied Rei, "We will all need our rest." "We can start our preparations in the morning," said Lyn, as he agreed with his future mother. "So we can properly greet our attackers," continued Eden. "Then we will defeat them," stated Hannah. They all agreed and made their way up the temple stairs. THE BATTLE BEGINS Early the next morning they all sat in the shade under an old cherry tree and formulated a plan of action. They had decided that Eden would fight with Lyn, Amber and Rhetta would fight together, Eternal Sailor Moon and Super Sailor Mars would fight together and Hannah and Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon would fight together. Amber was delighted since she felt that Rhetta and her made a great team. Despite the gravity of the situation they were all in good spirits, except for Hannah who sat in silent contemplation. The euphoria of watching her mother give birth had quickly worn thin as the threat presented by the arrival of four of Yargus' robots had become apparent. Her thoughts were interrupted by Serena as she tentatively touched Hannah's hand. Hannah looked up at her future Queen and looked straight into her blue eyed gaze. "I am convinced that we are a powerful group, but I fear that the robots that are imminent will be more powerful than those already encountered." Hannah sighed in relief as she voiced her fears aloud. "How powerful was the robot that followed you into the time portal?" Serena asked in curiosity. She remembered Eden's words as she had warned Rei and her of Hannah's abilities. "It was a powerful robot," Hannah answered in a casual tone, "but it was no match for my powers." Serena tried not to react to her companion's words. "Hannah, the Sailor Scouts and I have faced Mettalia, Queen Beryl, her generals, an evil space flower, the Wiseman and the Dark Moon Family, Mistress Nine, a weird alien woman who tried to turn the Earth into an ice sculpture, Madame Vadiane who tried to destroy the Earth with her black dream whole, Nepheria and Galaxia." Serena looked at Hannah seriously, "I'm sure that together we can defeat four robots, no matter how strong they are." "But we may not be together," Hannah argued. "Yargus' favorite tactic is to divide his forces so that we are forced to separate. I believe that together we are strong, but I fear that we will not be able to remain as a group." Serena was surprised. "Hannah, no matter what the battle is going to be hard. Believe me, I understand what will lose is we are defeated. I understand that you could lose your home. I've been to Crystal Tokyo, I understand the need to preserve the future. But you can't let that cripple you. You have to believe that in yourself and all of us and know that we will win." She smiled in a way that was uniquely her own. "And we will win." ************************************************* Setsuna watched as Haruka and Michiru approached Neo-Queen Serenity. She watched as the tall blond woman and the green haired woman tried to convince the Queen of something. She watched in relief as Neo-Queen Serenity shook her head at them in disagreement. Setsuna thought. But to her dismay, Haruka and Michiru persevered and Neo-Queen Serenity soon began to nod her head in agreement. Suddenly their conversation ended and the three turned to return Setsuna's annoyed glared. she thought as Neo-Queen Serenity, Michiru, and Haruka approached her with fierce determination. Setsuna glared at the three women standing in front of her. "Don't even suggest it," she warned with a menacing tone of voice. ************************************************* An image formed itself suddenly in Hannah's mind. "The robots will soon be here," she stated. "But I don't sense any evil presences," said Rei in confusion. "I can," said Hannah in her usual serious tone of voice. "I didn't know that you are psychic," Rei answered. "I am not," Hannah stated flatly. "But I have encountered Yargus' robots enough to know when one is approaching. Four are approaching now." Rei said nothing, she was amazed at how arrogant and how casual Hannah was about her abilities at the same time. "Two will appear in a nearby park and will have powerful reflective armor. One will appear in the parking lot that Electrolus once appeared and will be similar to that robot but more powerful. The last will appear in the courtyard of this temple and I sense power that is beyond anything previously encountered." "Then what are we waiting for?" said Rei. "We will be ready," said Eden. "And we'll kick their metallic butts right out of this timeline," said Amber with a mischievous grin. ************************************************* "No, I will not allow it," replied Setsuna, as she glared angrily at the three women before her. "All of you understand the risk to the timeline. That did not happen the first time." "No, and they were not all stranded in the past the first time," said Michiru softly. "Hannah did not watch herself be born the first time," stated Haruka. "Plus, Yargus did not send four powerful robots to attack them the first time," insisted Neo-Queen Serenity. "And I will not risk losing all of our children." "And if they lose," said Neo-King Endymion, who had calmly observed the discussion. "Crystal Tokyo will be no more." ************************************************* Eden and Lyn arrived at the parking lot just as the robot appeared. It immediately began to send blasts of laser fire in their direction. Purple energy shimmered around Eden and shielded her from harm. Four walls of emerald green energy surrounded Lyn and he was safe. "Their are no people around," commented Eden. "We do not have to worry about innocent people being harmed." Lyn agreed. "But we should destroy this robot as quickly as possible and then return to the temple to help the Princess and Hannah." "I am Eden, Wielder of the Amethyst Jewel..." "I am Lyn, Wielder of the Emerald Jewel.." They looked at each other for a brief moment and nodded. "You will do no harm here," the two said in unison. They advanced forward to engage their enemy. ************************************************* Two heavily armored robots appeared in the park. Amber, Rhetta, Eternal Sailor Moon, and Super Sailor Mars arrived the park just as the two robots began their attack, firing laser bolts in all directions. thought Super Sailor Rei, Amber allowed her energy to protect her, as she had done in the Moon Kingdom. Rhetta's ruby glowed fiercely and red spirals of energy surrounded her, deflecting the laser blasts. Rhetta thought. As the laser blasts flew in the direction of the two Sailor Scouts, Eternal Sailor Moon rose into the air. Swooping down, she grabbed Super Sailor Mars by the waist, and raised her to safety. "Listen, Meatball Head. I know you have wings, but how the hell am I supposed to fight from up here?" shouted Super Sailor Mars, as she looked down in horror. "Sorry, next time I'll leave you to get shot," replied Eternal Sailor Moon in annoyance. One robot noticed the two Sailor Scouts in the sky and began to shoot in their direction. Eternal Sailor Moon flew higher in the air, avoiding the blasts. "Fly towards the water," Sailor Mars said suddenly, "We have to keep it away from the entrance to the park." Eternal Sailor Moon did as she was told and the robot pursued them. "Good, it's working," shouted Sailor Mars. Eternal Sailor Moon put her friend down, landed and began her usual speech. "I am Eternal Sailor Moon, I fight for love and justice..." A shot landed directly in front of her. The force of the bast knocked her off of her feet. "Sailor Moon, cut the speech, this isn't the time," Shouted Super Sailor Mars. The other robot focused its shots on Amber and Rhetta who made their way slowly closer to it. In response the robot stepped backwards, closer and closer to the entrance to the park. "We can't let it make its way to the park," said Amber. "Too many people would be in danger." "I do not know what to do to distract it," answered Rhetta, trying to think of a plan. "You're thinking too hard Rhetta, turn around and run for it," her friend replied. With the power of their jewels enveloping them, the two adolescents turned and ran towards the middle of the park, away from the entrance. "It's working!" shouted Amber, as she stole a glance over her shoulder. The robot followed them, as it continued to fire laser blasts at them. "Fine, what do we do with the foul thing now?" asked Rhetta, as she tried hard to calculate the robot's power on her wrist computer while running. "What else," answered Amber in delightful anticipation. "We blast this sucker into oblivion." They stopped, and turned to face the robot. "I am Amber, Wielder of the Amber Jewel..." "I am Rhetta, Wielder of the Ruby..." Rhetta smiled and Amber chuckled in delight. Together they said, "You will do no harm here." ************************************************* Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon and Hannah watched the fourth robot exit the time portal. It looked almost human, complete with facial features, legs, feet, arms, and two hands armed with evil looking laser blasters. It was entirely made of a shiny white metal and after a moment compartments opened up in its shoulders, back, knees, elbows, and heels which revealed additional laser blasters. Upon noticing the two females standing before it, the laser blasters began to fire. Immediately, Hannah's long wooden staff appeared in her hand. She created a dome around Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon and herself for protection. The dome was successful in its purpose and they were safe. "We can't stay in here forever, Hannah," said Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon, as she flipped her long pink ponytails out of the way. "Agreed," Hannah answered solemnly. "This is a powerful robot, the most powerful that we've ever encountered." "We will destroy it," Hannah replied with conviction, Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon rolled her red eyes heavenwards. The shots quickly stopped. "Let me out of here, Hannah," Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon stepped closer to the robot. "I am Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon, the fighter for justice, safety and peace. On behalf of the future Moon and Crystal Tokyo, I will fight wrongs and triumph over evil." She smiled in anticipation, in a way that was similar to Amber. "And I am Hannah, Wielder of the powerful Sapphire. You will be destroyed." Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon continued to smile. "Be prepared to die metal head." ************************************************* Neo-Queen Serenity looked into the brilliant light created by her crystal. Her eyes widened as she observed the scene before her eyes. For the first time since the situation had begun, Neo-King Endymion became worried. "What is it, Serenity? How are the children?" His eyes starred at his wife's in worry. "The battle has begun. They are all well matched. Eden fights with Lyn, Eternal Sailor Moon and Super Sailor Mars fight together, Amber and Rhetta are together and Hannah fights with Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon. It will be some challenge, but I think they've separated themselves well." "Will they win?" continued Neo-King Endymion. His wife ceased her search into the past. She walked up to her husband and took his hand in hers. "Sure they will. What's a few robots?" she said with a sweet smile. Her smile quickly faded and she looked at Setsuna. "They'll need help, Setsuna." Setsuna shook her head in disagreement. "The risk is too great, too much could be lost." "The situation is already out of control, why not help them?" countered the Queen. "And if they lose?" Setsuna whispered, finally betraying her fear. Neo-Queen Serenity eyes began to burn with anger as she paced back and forth. "Now you worry. Yes, the situation is serious. Yes, Crystal Tokyo is in danger once again." She suddenly turned to face Setsuna. "Get over it!" She stood face to face, eye to eye with Setsuna. "Do it!" she shouted. "Now!" Setsuna struggled to keep her composure. "Fine, but the consequences are yours to bear." Setsuna turned away, defeated. Neo-Queen Serenity's features softened. "It's all right, Setsuna," she whispered, "That is a burden I have become accustomed to." THE BATTLE CONTINUES Queen Serenity stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard of the Moon Kingdom. She leaned down a bit and observed the activity below. She smiled gently at a sound she heard from behind and turned to see her daughter. Princess Serenity stood to the right of her mother and an arm around her waist. The Queen looked down at her daughter. "Are you happy, my sweet daughter." Princess Serenity raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Why yes, Mother, nothing could make me happier than I am now." She paused for a moment than blushed. "That is not the entire truth." She looked down at her small hands clutching the rail. "There is one thing that could make me even happier." She smiled as she thought about it again, stole a quick glance at her mother and blushed an even deeper shade of red. Her mother smiled knowingly. "I know, marrying Endymion would make you even happier." She watched her daughter as she tried not to blush more. "You can not hide that from me, I am your mother of course." The two laughed in their amusement. "But, Serenity you must wait to marry him. You are only fourteen years old. There is so much for you to experience. You have such a bright future ahead of you." "Mother, there is something bothering me." She looked up to her mother for guidance. "I cannot help myself from thinking about Amber and Rhetta. Do you think that they still battle that evil threatening their home." "I saw them through the Silver Crystal. Amber and Rhetta have many companions that help them battle those monsters. I do not know if their battle is over, but I know that they have the strength and the courage to succeed." Princess Serenity smiled. "That is wonderful, Mother." She heard a name calling her from the courtyard and saw that it was Prince Endymion. She smiled brilliantly and waived down to him. "I have to go mother... I will see you later." And she ran quickly down the stairs. Queen Serenity watched the scene below and smiled as she saw her daughter launch herself into the Prince's arms. Then, the Queen looked up at the stars, and to Earth. ************************************************* The time portal closed and Sailor Pluto allowed herself to transform back to her normal form. She looked as Neo-Queen Serenity, as she sat surprisingly calmly on her throne. Neo-King Endymion sat next to her, as she quietly held her hand. Setsuna walked up to the two monarchs. "I hope we had done the right thing." Neo-Queen Serenity looked up to her husband's face, then to Setsuna, to Haruka and Michiru, to Rei and Chad, to Mina who was busy chasing after her five year old son, to Ami and her husband, to Lita and her husband, who held a sleeping toddler carefully in his arms. She looked again at her husband's face and smiled. "We have done all we can to help our children. I understand that it is difficult to sit back and wait as children battle in the past to sustain Crystal Tokyo. But we must wish them the strength and courage to succeed." One by one, everyone nodded in agreement. Neo-Queen Serenity squeezed her husband's hand tighter. Reenie, and all of you I wish you the strength to face all of your challenges. And with all my heart I wish you the strength to succeed, as the Sailor Scouts, Tuxedo Mask and I have done so many times before. ************************************************* Amber became very angry. They had spent the last few minutes dodging blast after blast. This is getting us nowhere fast. "Rhetta, can't you find a weakness in this robot's armor? You did last time." Rhetta barely shielded herself from a blast. "I am doing the best I can. Last time I had Sailor Mercury to help. Can you not keep this thing busy for a minute?" "Okay, I'll try." Amber ran in front of the robot, lifted her arms towards the robot, she moved her hands so that her palms faced her enemy and send a large spiral of amber colored energy towards it. The spirals of energy did not hit the monster, but instead surrounded it for a few seconds. She repeated this attack several times in hopes that this would give her friend enough time to scan the robot with her wrist computer. Super Sailor Mars and Eternal Sailor Moon struggled with he robot. Eternal Sailor Moon produced her Moon Scepter. "Starlight, Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" The blast hit the robot and was reflected back at the two Sailor Scouts. They both jumped out of the way. "Sailor Moon that's not going to work. You've tried that three times." She jumped and pushed Sailor Moon out of the way of another blast. Super Sailor Mars sprang to her feet. "Mars Fire Sniper!" A large powerful arrow of fire aimed itself at the robot's feet. It met its target and the robot began to lose its balance. "No problem," said Sailor Moon. "Starlight, Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" The blast from the Moon Scepter hit the base of the robot's left foot and the force of it sent the robot crashing onto its back. The robot was stunned only briefly and began to stand up again. "Sailor Moon, if we can't hurt it by knocking it down, or shooting at it, what can we do?" The robot aimed its weapon at the two Sailor Scouts and fired again. Eternal Sailor Moon grabbed her companion and lifted them into the air. Her eyes widened as she thought of a solution. "I think I know what to do." She put Super Sailor Mars down by the water and landed in front of robot. "Meatball Head, are you nuts?" her friend yelled at her. Eternal Sailor Moon cupped her hands in front of her transformation broach and produced the Silver Crystal. "Sailor Moon be careful!" Super Sailor Mars feared that Sailor Moon would use too much of the Crystal's energy. "Or you'll die!" Eternal Sailor Moon looked to her friend and nodded. "Moon Princess Power!" A beam of brilliant white energy flowed form the Crystal and surrounded the robot. The robot in response, tried to blast its way out of the energy dome created by the Silver Crystal. Eternal Sailor Moon struggled to keep the dome intact. "Mars Crystal Power!" Super Sailor Mars sent her energy into the Crystal's energy dome. Sailor Moon caused the energy dome to slowly tighten around the robot. Suddenly, the Silver Crystal's energy dome imploded and destroyed the robot. Eternal Sailor Moon returned the Crystal to her transformation broach and fell to her knees. Super Sailor Mars ran to Sailor Moon and helped her friend to her feet. "You did it Sailor Moon! You destroyed the robot!" "No Sailor Mars, we destroyed robot together." The two women hugged. The other robot moved out of the way of Amber's energy spirals and fired in all directions. Amber saw a shot moving towards Rhetta, who was busy with her wrist computer. "Rhetta watch out!" Amber pushed her friend out of the way, and shielded herself from the shot. "Amber, I cannot analyze the robot. It moves too quickly." They suddenly heard a loud noise as the other armored robot imploded. Amber and Rhetta both turned to quickly look at the implosion. "That is the answer! They captured the robot in a dome of energy and allowed the robot to destroy itself," exclaimed Rhetta. "We too can do that, but we will have to keep the robot immobile." They dodged another set of laser fire. "How the hell are we going to do that?!" yelled Amber as she shielded herself with her jewel's power. Suddenly a time portal opened above. A figure appeared outside of the portal. But instead of falling to the ground as most people would, the mysterious figure floated in the air. Super Sailor Mars and Eternal Sailor Moon looked up at the newcomer. "Who could that be?" wondered Sailor Moon out loud. "Not another one," groaned Super Sailor Mars. Amber and Rhetta looked up at the figure floating down to them. They saw a small girl of about six, with green wavy pigtails and wisps of green hair framing her face. "It's Skye!" exclaimed Rhetta. "Hey Skye! What are you doing here sweetie?" Skye laughed, enjoying her descent. "I came to help!" "Great, do you mind keeping that robot still for a few minutes?" "Sure!" replied the little girl. Amber and Rhetta looked at each other smiled. "Let's do it!" shouted Amber in excitement. The diamond in Skye's bracelet began to shine as she sent her energy to make the robot stay in one place. Amber grabbed Rhetta's right hand with her left hand. They raised their hands and mentally called upon the full force of the amber and ruby's power. A large sphere of amber and ruby colored light appeared around the robot. Eternal Sailor Moon began to call upon her Crystal again, but Super Sailor Mars stopped her. "No Sailor Moon, you need to rest, I'll help." Sailor Mars ran up to Amber and Rhetta. She grabbed their joined hand with her right hand and shouted, "Mars Crystal Power!" Sailor Mars' red energy joined the dome around the robot. They all struggled to maintain it. Suddenly the dome imploded. The force of the robot's destruction threw Amber, Rhetta, Skye, Super Sailor Mars, and Eternal Sailor Moon a few feet away. Super Sailor Mars helped Rhetta to her feet and Amber and Eternal Sailor Moon went to Skye. Amber picked up the child. "Are you okay, Sweetie?" Amber asked, concerned. "I'm okay." She smiled in response. "That was fun. Let's do that again." Amber shook her head and Sailor Moon gasped in shock. "Gee, you're just like your mom! No, I think we're done for now." Skye's face contorted briefly into a cute little pout designed to influence Amber. But Amber only shook her head. "Don't bother babe, that pouting thing doesn't work on me." Skye's face broke into a smile. "Who is she?" asked Eternal Sailor Moon. "This is Skye. She's six years old and wields a diamond." Sailor Moon studied the girl's face for a moment. "Whose child is she?" asked Sailor Moon, noticing the child's green hair. Amber's eyes widened in response. "Oh, that's a long story." Before she could continue, Super Sailor Mars and Rhetta joined them. "We should get moving now. They'll need us at the Temple." They all nodded in agreement and left the park. THE BATTLE'S CONCLUSION Eden thought to herself as she ran to the left side of the robot. Lyn, ran to its right side. "Eden now!" he yelled as he created small squares of green energy. Blasts of purple energy shot from Eden's hands towards the robot's left side. Lyn created a group of small green squares in his large hands and flung them towards the robot's right side. The two easily shielded themselves from the explosion from their blasts. The robot, uninjured, continued its assault on them. Lyn was not amused. This is Electrolus all over again. "How did you defeat Electrolus last time you were here?" he asked his purple haired friend. "I sheared off its head with one blast," she replied as she dodged a close laser blast. "We would need to distract it first." Lyn created a large square of green energy in his hand and flung it towards the ground behind the robot. The energy contacted the earth and exploded. Lyn had created an indentation in the earth of about three feet deep. "Now Eden!" he yelled. She raised her right arm, facing her palm towards the robot's chest area and sent a powerful blast of purple energy towards it. The force of the blast caused the robot to lose its balance, it stepped backwards to compensate, one metallic leg went into the indentation Lyn had created and the entire robot fell to onto its back. Lyn created one last square of green energy and flung it towards the robot. The green square decapitated the robot with ease and it exploded with a dramatic burst of flame and fire. Eden created a dome with her energy to contain the blast. When she let it disappear, nothing was left of the robot but its melted remains. The two friends looked at each other and smiled. "We should return to the temple," said Eden and they both nodded in agreement. ************************************************* Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon sighed. She raised her Moon Scepter and shouted, "Starlight, Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" The energy of her attack hit the robot, but did not damage it. Just as I thought. "Starlight, Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" As she aimed her second attack at the robot, she glanced quickly at her companion. Hannah stood with her feet shoulder width apart, her staff held in both hands. Smiling, she gathered a powerful blast with her weapon and launched it at her enemy. thought Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon as both blasts hit the robot at the same time. Focused on her thought, she did not anticipate the explosion that ensued. Hannah, automatically shielded herself and turned to protect Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon, but before she could create a shield around her pink haired princess, a figure in black appeared and swept her out of the harm of the explosion. He knelt in front of her, and used his cape to protect her. After the explosion, Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon shook her head and was helped up by her rescuer. She looked up to see a tall man in a tuxedo, complete with a top hat and white mask. "Tuxedo Mask!" exclaimed the winged Sailor Scout in delight. "You rescued me!" Tuxedo Mask's eyes widened in shock and he gasped in surprise. "Small Lady!" he said, examining her from head to toe. Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon laughed in delight. "Not such a small lady now, eh Tuxedo Mask?" He shook his head, not understanding why she was standing before him. "You're as tall as your mother now. Small Lady, what are you doing here? Where is Serena, is she okay?" He began to talk so quickly that his now grown future daughter could not answer his questions. "I felt that Sailor Moon was in trouble and I thought it was her." Without looking her way, he pointed at Hannah. "And why is Hotaru fighting not as Sailor Saturn?" Before Eternal Sailor Moon could answer her future father, Hannah interrupted, "That is because I am not Sailor Saturn. I am Hotaru's daughter Hannah." Tuxedo Mask turned to the dark haired girl, who still held her staff pointed at the immobile robot. He then looked at Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon. "Small Lady, Hotaru is only fifteen right now." "I know, but when she has Hannah in Crystal Tokyo she is about a thousand and twenty years old." Tuxedo Mask raised his eyebrows at this statement. Hannah, observed the robot. "I regret to interrupt your explanation of my future parentage, Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon, but our enemy is about to function normally once again." "Fine," said her friend in reply.